Urban Survival - Are Gold and Silver Going to Be Worth Anything?

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com received the following question: "I understand the desire to have gold and silver in your stock of survival gear, which I do, but the more I think about it the more I wonder about the true usefulness of it. If the SHTF tomorrow or even 10 years from now, why would someone care about a small metallic coin over trading what they really need like food, water purification tablets, ammo, a rifle, gardening tools etc.? I mean the only value in a small silver coin is what the person on the other end of the deal values it at? I am the first to admit that they are small, can be carried in some quantity easily, but from my perspective, what do I care about getting 2 silver fishing weights when what I really want is some toilet paper. (Just an example on the TP by the way).

Would people REALLY want gold or silver when their world comes crashing down around them, or are the basics food, water, shelter, protection and the items associated with them a better bargaining chip? Wouldn’t I be better off stockpiling .22 Ammo or toilet paper or for large deals an extra firearm or two? Thanks."

UrbanMan's Reply: I think Gold and Silver,...or just Silver for most people, are going to have value in two separate phases of a collapse, and possibly, throughout the collapse depending upon collapse, infrastructure and economic factors.

First of all, at some point in the collapse, dollars will be worthless so the exchange of goods and services will be fueled by precious metals or trade goods. PM's could be the commerce unit of choice for 2 days, 2 months or may never end. At some point in the collapse, when food and other essentials become scare, the value will shift to these items. Then we'll see people saying "Gold? Who the hell wants gold? I want food!"

In all societies throughout history an monetary exchange system has been developed, this has historically been Gold and Silver. Afterall, what started this whole mess was the Government coming off the Gold standard for the U.S. dollar. So I think you'll see Gold and Silver being valuable, at some point as the collapse levels off and/or commerce starts to begin again.

The last reason is akin to why that big fat liberal George Soros has reportedly went into a high density Gold buying spree.....because if the collapse isn't too bad and this country does come back, there will be wealth re-distribution. If you are owning Gold and Silver you will be sitting much more prettier.

The bottom line is that to be truly prepared for Survival, you need a location to provide safety and shelter; a Bug Out Plan to another safe location; you need stocks of food, water in order to live; firearms, ammunition and the will/skill to use for protection; and an ability to barter for things you need,....some of the people who have something you need may not take anything other than precious metals.

And one more way to look at it. I'd rather have ounces of silver in my gun safe than to count on my 401K money being there or my ability to get money out of my bank account during the collapse. Plus, that fiat currency from the bank is going to continue to dminish in value whereas the gold or silver wil increase. So if you have traditional savings, like in the bank,...money market, CD's or a 401K - it would not be a bad idea to change some of that into gold and silver kept on hand.

The last thing you mentioned is possibly stockpiling ammo and other items for trade. Absolutely a great idea. I keep many items for possible barter,....I have a kit bag full of clothing and gear and buckets of trade items like butane lighters, tarps, clothing items, hand tools, etc. And in fact I just traded two 20 gallon barrels for 6 five gallon water cans. While most Survivialist may not believe in trading guns, since they may be turned against you, I still have the capability with a couple cheap .22 LR rifles and if conditions are right will used them for trade.

Thanks for the question. Prepare well.