Gold for barter

Cladiator

If you had to chose one type of gold to use as barter what would it be. Assume you will be bartering with everyday, average people that make up American society.

PerryHall

Probably .900 pre-1965 silver coins would be more practical.

Overdate

Actually, I think silver would be better for barter. Even a small gold coin is worth over $100, so using gold would be like trying to do your normal daily transactions with nothing smaller than paper $100 bills.

Best method might be to trade 1/10 ounce gold eagles for 90% silver dimes and use those for buying groceries, etc.

InYHWHWeTrust

Since the OP is talking gold, 1/10 AGEs all the way for Americans. Have some 1/10 APs for less optimistic times (plus I like the design). Smaller fractions would be necessary if no silver barter, but silver is already being bartered here in US.

I was surprised to learn of a couple of dentists and a chiropractor already accepting silver for services in my locale.(I'm pretty sure there is already a thread here with links to those sites).

sbeverly

The biggest demand that I see by a wide margin is 1/10 AGE's

Justacommeman

small format coins. 1/10 Eagles or Austrian phil's .235 British Sov's , .186 Swiss or French francs etc...................MJ

Cladiator

You guys beat me to the punch on the silver. I was going to make the silver poll when I got home from work....it's up now.

Baley

didn't see the choices for cigarettes or whiskey, canned food or bottled water, tylenol pills or neosporin ointment.

not to mention razor blades, pocket knives, hatchets and hammers, and, of course, ammunition of every description

IMO, all would make for better barter than metals in any form. (assuming the S has hit the F and it's TEOTWAWKI)

PS I voted gold jewelry

Weiss

1/10th eagles? Really? I always felt they were virtually useless. Too small for anything substantial, too big for day to day.

KUCH

ditto to every form of barter mentioned on this blog. I would hold various forms (grams, oz's, 90's) of PM's:

oz's would go to make large purchases, land, casr, planes, debt card.

Fractionals to buy smaller daily purchases like TP, movie tickets, food etc.

sbeverly

1/10th eagles? Really? I always felt they were virtually useless

To expand on Kuch's post...

Using the smaller fractional, you can come to the closest amount
needed for a barter/sale situation. Depending on whats bartered/purchased, more of them may be needed

Not one of the choices, but my personal philosophy is to have a combination of all
sizes, from the 1oz down to gram size pieces.

It is analogous to todays fiat money where in everyday commerce you have
everything from $100 bills to a penny.

In a Barter world, it would be in your best interest to have the correct amount, because
the counter-party may not have the right change for you. He, or She may throw in
a sheep or a cow for the balance but, you may not want or need a sheep or an cow.

Also, due to its largest % over melt, the market itself has voted for the 1/10 AGE.
IMO, it's always wise to supply the market what it wants.

ebaytrader

There is a present day example in Zimbabwe where they are using gold dust and nuggets is lieu of paper.

Weiss

<< <i>1/10th eagles? Really? I always felt they were virtually useless

To expand on Kuch's post...

Using the smaller fractional, you can come to the closest amount
needed for a barter/sale situation. Depending on whats bartered/purchased, more of them may be needed

>>



I know we're dealing with lots of "ifs" here: "If" the economy collapses, and "if" it falls into something still navigable/survivable, and "if" PMs become a medium of exchange.

But it appears the closest we have to an idea of what gold would be worth is Zimbabwe, where some sketchy reports seem to indicate a gram of gold was worth about 10 loaves of bread:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ubJp6rmUYM

That means the 1/10th eagle--the smallest fractional gold coin we can get our hands on--would be worth more than 30 loaves of bread. So forget the idea of using 1/10th eagles as a way to come closest to the amount you need. They're just too big, too "valuable" to be a practical medium of day to day exchange. Even with that small a size gold coin, you're using a sledge hammer when you need a toothpick.

Consider this: A classic gold dollar (1849-1889) is 1/2 the size of a 1/10th eagle. In 1850, that $1 was "worth" about $200 in today's dollars. So a 1/10th eagle would be "worth" something like $400. That doesn't sound too far off the Zimbabwe model, it would mean each loaf would "cost" about $12--within reason in hyperinflated scarce goods economy. Can you imagine trying to make change when the smallest unit of exchange you have is $400?

Or if you take the point of view that the value of gold doesn't change, it's the value of things in comparison that change, then consider a 1/10th eagle is "worth" about $125 in today's paper dollars. Let's round it down to $100 for the sake of comparison. When was the last time you spent a $100 bill? Imagine if you had no smaller bills with which to make change.

I know the 1/10th eagle is the smallest practical gold we can get our hands on. But they still seem like they'd be way too big for daily commerce.

halfhunter

Gold for Bread . . .

HH

57loaded

i ticked the 1/10 AGE

i could see this as a bartering agent very easily.

under $100 or so ca$h, or ASE or 90% 1/2 dollars, but as the OP is asking so it's for sure 1/10 AGE.

i think that the 1/10 would be easier to continue with a barter process for other goods and services. maybe when the Treasury releases those fancy $100 bills next year 2 of those will be worth 1 1/10 AGE?

RedHerring

Going against the grain again with, "Gold bars, small size".

For many purchases 1g, 2g, 5g and 10g name-brand bars in assay cards would be hard to beat.

I view these as the equivalent of $50, $100, $250 and $500 in the very near future.

$5 & $10 GAE fit in nicely also......

calleocho

gold has really never been used for small change...thats why you have silver for.

IF you want a cow you buy it with gold, if you want an egg ...silver.

Baley

Gee, that is a really specialized monetary collapse! Cash and all forms of credit are gone, yet society goes on, and people are peacefully bartering little gold coins for cows and eggs?

bwahahahaah

Overdate

A modern economy could not run on barter for very long. But during a temporary financial collapse, barter will allow people to trade for essential goods and services until a "new, improved" monetary system is put in place.

PerryHall

<< <i>.......and people are peacefully bartering little gold coins for cows and eggs? >>



There won't be any peace if there is an economic collapse. There will be rioting as is happening now in Greece. That's why lead, brass, and blued steel is as importantant as gold and silver.

jmski52

1/10th oz AGEs, for sure. Nothing else makes as much sense, if we're indeed talking gold.

It doesn't mean that you wouldn't have some other denominations too, but it means that you would want more of the smaller ones, simply for practical reasons. If TSHTF, everything is negotiable and I'm not sure what would happen to the premiums but I know that the finer you can slice your offers, the closer to finding an agreement you will be.

1jester

<< <i>Going against the grain again with, "Gold bars, small size".

For many purchases 1g, 2g, 5g and 10g name-brand bars in assay cards would be hard to beat.

I view these as the equivalent of $50, $100, $250 and $500 in the very near future.

$5 & $10 GAE fit in nicely also...... >>



This is what I'd say also. 1g bars in assay cards are about the most fungible portions of gold possible, and even they are still too large for small purchases.

NitroCruiser

Since silver wasn't an option, I went with the 1/10 oz. AGE. A lot of folks here talking about buying a loaf of bread, and it seems reasonable that even a small amount of gold might be overkill, so let me throw this into the mix...how many people go to a merchant (especially food stuffs) and buy one item? I'm thinking more of bulk items if it came to it, you know 25 lb. bag of flour, 10 lb. sugar, quarter side of beef, etc. little house on the prairie style if you will. In that case small gold (with silver), the harder to fake the better, would work just fine IMO.

ebaytrader

<< <i>Gee, that is a really specialized monetary collapse! Cash and all forms of credit are gone, yet society goes on, and people are peacefully bartering little gold coins for cows and eggs?

bwahahahaah >>




Capitalism absent government intervention has never failed. Ever.

Yet there are those that revel in socialism, fascism, communism, etc., that has never succeeded. Ever.

It's a real head scratcher fer sure.