Junk Silver or .9999 Silver Coins in an Economic Collapse Scenario?

[Stu77000]

Ok, I don't live in the US, but I'm wondering if you have the same situation as over here.

Let's say we go into a worldwide economic collapse scenario where all fiat currency goes to close to zero.
Those with some foresight would have stocked up on food, water, etc. but after that if you still have money left to invest then it is either silver or gold for most.

So my question is - do you go with junk silver, ie. old currency that can have anywhere from 50 - 90% silver content, or do you go for the pretty looking Silver Eagles with .9999 silver content.

Here's why I'm asking. In my country the Silver Eagle type coins have a 40% premium! So on top of the silver content you add 40%. It's crazy. So...

- In a SHTF scenario where trade is taking place people aren't going to be worried about the shiny looking .9999 coins, just the silver content.

- The problem with old currency junk silver is that will the average person on the street recognise and understand that these old coins actually have silver content in them and are worth something?

- To add to that, in my country there is a 50% and 80% 5 Shilling depending on the date of the coin.

So you could be sitting on a pile of silver but people don't want to trade for it.

It is so tempting to go the junk silver route as you can get so much more silver compared to the Silver Eagles, and over time people probably will come to learn that these old coins do contain silver. Certainly preppers will know.

Thoughts?

 

[GeorgiaPeachie]

Hey Stu! All good questions. While I’ve bought silver, we don’t have the circumstances you do So I don’t feel comfortable giving advice. But there are many on here who know far more than I who will definitely chime in and get you on the right track!

Another option for “value” items besides food are collecting things that people will be very motivated to Barter their silver for. Think of needs items like lighters, candles, batteries…or even Antibiotics (fish type, which ARE the human ones in a different bottle) Tylenol, Bandages. The list is very long on bartering items.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

I can tell you what order I did things when prepping because when I was just starting out I couldn't afford a big outlay anyway.

1) Stamped Sterling silver jewelry, necklaces, charms, pendants, rings, silver spoons that I would run across at thrift stores, yard sales or auctions.
2) Gold earrings of different sizes and other jewelry, again Stamped
3) Junk silver 90%, dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars
4) Real Copper Pennies and Nickles that were actually made of Nickle .
5) Physical Silver bullion, and gold

Never went hog wild on any of them just slow and steady as I had the money to do it without sacrificing other necessities.

Other things that might come to have an assigned value in bartering

Liquor (I have a bunch of those little "sample" bottles as well as larger quantities)
Ammo in common calibers and a few in odd calibers
Cigarettes/tobacco
Heirloom Seeds
Mason Jars/lids
Nicotine vape juice
Antibiotics (where legal, wouldn't want to get you into trouble)

Keep in mind that things could get really ugly and if they do, some of the lesser laws like taxes could be "overlooked" by the common man and the government as well because they will have their hands full dealing with other, more pressing matters.

 

[Oddcaliber]

Gold and silver are good to have around but both parties must be willing to accept their value when being traded for other goods or services. I'd keep tangible assets like food, clothing medical supplies and some trade goods around. Just remember you can't eat gold.

 

[Stu77000]

I hear you guys, and I have the other aspects pretty well sorted (well at least until tomorrow anyways, as there's always something more to add....). So I'm down to silver and gold now.

@rainingcatzanddogs Yeah buying stamped silver and gold seems like a wise thing to do but some people don't trust those stamps though... A business I sell odd pieces of Dutch, English, etc. silver to is very wary and I usually agree to have some pieces tested first by them (not on premises, so takes a few days) before they buy it.

The coins for me just seem easier, as the weight is usually standard, unless you have a very worn or clipped piece, and so know exactly how much it is worth.

As for how bad it is going to get, I'm expecting Mad Max to be honest..... at least for a while, until the "hero" (read: bad guy) appears on the scene to save us all.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I pick up junk silver whenever I can for a bargain price. I have accumulated thousands of coins over the years. I have bought .999 silver coins in bulk also. I have solid silver jewelry I've acquired as well as silver items.

I think a variety is good, especially if acquired at bargain prices. Trade with others for goods you consider equal or more valuable than your silver.

 

[Proud Prepper]

I hear you guys, and I have the other aspects pretty well sorted (well at least until tomorrow anyways, as there's always something more to add....). So I'm down to silver and gold now.

@rainingcatzanddogs Yeah buying stamped silver and gold seems like a wise thing to do but some people don't trust those stamps though... A business I sell odd pieces of Dutch, English, etc. silver to is very wary and I usually agree to have some pieces tested first by them (not on premises, so takes a few days) before they buy it.

The coins for me just seem easier, as the weight is usually standard, unless you have a very worn or clipped piece, and so know exactly how much it is worth.

As for how bad it is going to get, I'm expecting Mad Max to be honest..... at least for a while, until the "hero" (read: bad guy) appears on the scene to save us all.

Invest in test kits and learn how to use them, use them now. , I have 2 kits. That's why U.S. junk silver coins is so good, it's easily recognized and very difficult to counterfeit.

 

[rainingcatzanddogs]

As for how bad it is going to get, I'm expecting Mad Max to be honest..... at least for a while, until the "hero" (read: bad guy) appears on the scene to save us all.

Prepare for the worst but, hope for the best!
You kind of answered your own question. The way I see barter post SHTF is this: people will trade for what they value.
If their kid has no shoes and winter is coming, shoes will have value to them. If their kid has no dinner, dinner will be their priority. It will likely be quite the crapshoot and it will be evolving.

In the beginning, common people will take gold and silver jewelry in trade, when the food starts getting scarce, like @Oddcaliber said, you can't eat silver, then ammo, food and seeds will become more valuable.

Don't put all your eggs into one basket and you will be fine.

 

[Arcticdude]

I've never considered old 90% US silver coins as "junk". But whatever you want to call it I would recommend buying silver in any form; coins, rounds, bars etc. I believe that a person should have at least 10% of their assests in gold and silver. A lot of places sell bags of 90% silver coins in $100, $500 or $1,000 face value. These bags will have dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollar coins. For larger trades I like bars up to 100 and 1,000 oz sizes.
Precious metals have always had great value, and always will.
If there ever is a real economic collapse the value of any trade will be whatever the 2 parties agree on.

 

[Arcticdude]

Another thing to consider, if you'll be trading in larger bars is to invest in a test kit. You can get a non-destructive ultrasound kit for around $400, or a chemical kit for under $50. There's a lot of counterfeit bars floating around. Some people will take tungsten bars and cover them in a gold shell. Some hallmarked bars can be cored out and filled with lead alloy. This isn't a problem when dealing with reputable dealers today, but beware of conterfits after SHTF.

 

[Stu77000]

Another thing to consider, if you'll be trading in larger bars is to invest in a test kit. You can get a non-destructive ultrasound kit for around $400, or a chemical kit for under $50. There's a lot of counterfeit bars floating around. Some people will take tungsten bars and cover them in a gold shell. Some hallmarked bars can be cored out and filled with lead alloy. This isn't a problem when dealing with reputable dealers today, but beware of conterfits after SHTF.

An ultrasound kit, thanks for the tip, will look into that.
I don't see myself trading something for silver or gold, rather I will trade silver and gold for something someone else has. I think I will find far more value in food and goods than precious metals in a SHTF scenario. But then one can never actually predict exactly how things will go down, so it's best to be prepared for any eventuality as best you can.

 

[GaRp58]

There's a lot of counterfeit bars floating around. Some people will take tungsten bars and cover them in a gold shell. Some hallmarked bars can be cored out and filled with lead alloy.

ALSO take a magnet with you, I have found many people in Europe who are trying to sell "silver" dollars at flea markets for a good price...and I have caught more than one (like Arcticdude said) trying to float a fake coin. The look on their face is priceless when you pick up their 1922 silver dollar with a magnet....

 

[Arcticdude]

Another way to buy gold, if you live in an active gold mining area, is to buy directly from the miner. Most placer gold assays for around 75-87% pure. The gold from my mine ran 92-93%. I sold all the gold I could mine for 90% of spot. Nuggets went for double or more of spot, depending on size and character of the nugget.
Once you've accumulated 10+ ounces you can send it off to be refined to .999+ bars.
Or better yet, go mine your own gold. The wife and I are going to start digging our own this summer.

 

[noboat1]

Ok, I don't live in the US, but I'm wondering if you have the same situation as over here.

Let's say we go into a worldwide economic collapse scenario where all fiat currency goes to close to zero.
Those with some foresight would have stocked up on food, water, etc. but after that if you still have money left to invest then it is either silver or gold for most.

So my question is - do you go with junk silver, ie. old currency that can have anywhere from 50 - 90% silver content, or do you go for the pretty looking Silver Eagles with .9999 silver content.

Here's why I'm asking. In my country the Silver Eagle type coins have a 40% premium! So on top of the silver content you add 40%. It's crazy. So...

- In a SHTF scenario where trade is taking place people aren't going to be worried about the shiny looking .9999 coins, just the silver content.

- The problem with old currency junk silver is that will the average person on the street recognise and understand that these old coins actually have silver content in them and are worth something?

- To add to that, in my country there is a 50% and 80% 5 Shilling depending on the date of the coin.

So you could be sitting on a pile of silver but people don't want to trade for it.

It is so tempting to go the junk silver route as you can get so much more silver compared to the Silver Eagles, and over time people probably will come to learn that these old coins do contain silver. Certainly preppers will know.

Thoughts?

Look into goldbacks.

 

[user 7482]

I´d only barter with silver currency coins, including the stamping 1 ounce or similar. Why? Cause that´s the only thing I know about that stuff. When someone brings some huge necklace in change for some potatoes I might also trade.

Getting a Testkit and magnet´s are good tipps. Thanks!

Before I stack goldcoin or silverbars (I wish I could...) I´d rather stack lead. In brass or steel casing similar expensive and harder to get.

 

[DrHenley]

Don't put all you eggs in one basket. Diversify.

 

[campandtravel]

over time people probably will come to learn that these old coins do contain silver. Certainly preppers will know.

Yeah this would happen quick and easy. Every coin book has the weight, percentage, and a picture of each type of junk silver coin. And I think the denominations are proportional or am I wrong? Like a dime actually has 1/10 as much silver as a silver dollar. And the silver dollar is about 3/4 of a silver ounce. And they look and sound familiar. Rounds will be harder to prove authentic, rounds in the middle somewhere.

I don't know if it will ever come to trading silver. I think you might be preparing for a very different crisis than the one that's coming. In the scenario that I think is coming, everyone will have free money sent to them on their phone, as much as (TPTB say) they need, so long as they're compliant.

 

[user 7482]

In the scenario that I think is coming, everyone will have free money sent to them on their phone, as much as (TPTB say) they need, so long as they're compliant.

Especially then you need some kind of cash to trade out of the sight from those who evaluate you.

 

[campandtravel]

Especially then you need some kind of cash to trade out of the sight from those who evaluate you.

Do you not have a cell phone? If you do then you are one of the "those".

 

[DrHenley]

Back to the original question...
I first stacked .999 silver, but after getting more experience in buying and selling silver I realized that the "junk silver" was the most economical way to buy silver. Junk doesn't mean the coins are worn out or damaged, it just means they don't have any special collector value, and can be bought and sold based on what their "melt value" is.
And with American coins at least, the silver coins are recognized immediately as "money" by everyone because they are the same size as the current coins. Brits will have a harder time because they completely revamped their coinage when they decimalized. But everyone in the US knows what a dime, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar are and can recognize them no matter how old they are. And once they realize that the silver ones are the "real money" there won't be a big learning curve to figure out how to use them in trade like there would be with .999 coins, bars and rounds, or even pre-decimalization British silver coins.