Glenn Beck loves the Goooooolldddd

[Chief Uwachiquen]

A friend of mine was saying that it's a good idea to convert a few hundred dollars into gemstones/jewelry that would be hard to steal casually when worn on your person, at least when traveling abroad just incase something terrible happens you can hock the gems to get some money that you'll need to get back. That said, if currency was even something that came into play after a complete collapse, would you accept those sorts of things in lieu of gold?

Personally, if the entire structures falls out underneath I can't see gold really being worth holding on to, especially if you have to travel. Doubly so on foot, that shit gets heavy.

[Elder Iptuous]

maybe i will stock up on lead that has been painted gold, instead.

It would have to be tungsten.  lead is better for faking silver.

The big problem with gold as barter is that its not something a lot of people would have.  You can demand gold.  But since 99% of the population has some jewelry (at best) you probably aren't going to get much, forcing something more commonly available as trade.

I will be happy to accept the jewelry.  I have the tools necessary for detecting its purity for all but the more sophisticated attempts at fakery which wouldn't concern me.  If somebody has everything they need, and others want some of it, then there isn't anything forcing what the medium will be.  The people that don't have their shit together will undoubtedly start some system of trade amongst themselves with washers or bottlecaps like some homeless communities do today... they're welcome to it.

A friend of mine was saying that it's a good idea to convert a few hundred dollars into gemstones/jewelry that would be hard to steal casually when worn on your person, at least when traveling abroad just incase something terrible happens you can hock the gems to get some money that you'll need to get back. That said, if currency was even something that came into play after a complete collapse, would you accept those sorts of things in lieu of gold?

Personally, if the entire structures falls out underneath I can't see gold really being worth holding on to, especially if you have to travel. Doubly so on foot, that shit gets heavy.

Gemstones are easier to fake and harder to detect.  they are not fungible.  they are not divisible.  i don't mess with them.

as far as gold being too heavy for travel, i would say that could apply to silver, but gold?
its $1112 an ounce (troy)! and that's before shtf.... 

i don't think any other commodity will have the same value density.

[Requia ☣]

How much will it actually be worth post collapse though?

[Xooxe]

YOU NEED TO INVEST IN CATS TO KEEP THE INTERWEBS RUNNING SMOOTH.

[Elder Iptuous]

How much will it actually be worth post collapse though?

I'll give you a 5lb bag of rice for your mother's wedding ring.


seriously....
nobody knows.  People that claim otherwise are full of shit or selling something.  things are 'worth' whatever you can get for them.  saying that something is worth a certain amount of something else reliably only works when there is a functioning market.  otherwise it's moment to moment, and person to person.  It wouldn't take long for local market prices to set up, i would think.  who knows how long it would take to create a national price average on various items?  probably depends on exactly how things deteriorate....

[Faust]

I intend to be working for one of the huge pharmaceutical companies who's factories will just become a compound in the event of collapse, that will just gas any looters and will exchange goods for service in the glorious Pfizer army.

[Elder Iptuous]

You haul sixteen tons, whadaya get?....

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You know, this one thread completely replaces GIM, only without the screeching racist fucks.

[Requia ☣]

You know, this one thread completely replaces GIM, only without the screeching racist fucks.

We need Aini back.

[Elder Iptuous]

You know, this one thread completely replaces GIM, only without the screeching racist fucks.

also, i get a little bit to challenge my beliefs about gold.
on GIM, unless you tow the line, you're labeled a 'shill'...

[Freeky]

How much will it actually be worth post collapse though?

This was one of the lessons I remember almost from the business class I took.

If you can convince your market that what you are selling is worth what it's for, if you can convince them that they REALLY need it, you can get just about any price for any goddamn thing you have.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

You know, this one thread completely replaces GIM, only without the screeching racist fucks.

also, i get a little bit to challenge my beliefs about gold.
on GIM, unless you tow the line, you're labeled a 'shill'...

And a "Jew".

[Elder Iptuous]

You know, this one thread completely replaces GIM, only without the screeching racist fucks.

also, i get a little bit to challenge my beliefs about gold.
on GIM, unless you tow the line, you're labeled a 'shill'...

And a "Jew".

No, it's pretty much assumed that there are no Jews on that board (although i know personally that there are some that just keep it to themselves so as not to feed the skinheads).
You are in danger of being said by some to support the Zionist powers if you stray from their groupthink....

[Hangshai]

I want to buy gold, if only for the reason to have something that is tangible (=not paper)money.  I guess the premise behind gold retaining its value barring ANY sort of collapse is the fact that it IS a limited supply(the amount of gold on the Earth when it was formed is as much as we've got, period), and it's universally recognized as being valuable throughout history.  I mean, even Native American tribes saw value in gold before the 'civilized' Europeans showed up, right?  I also agree that weed would fall under the same category. It isn't really THAT hard to grow.  If you were to post up in the mountains every summer, you could have a nice sized crop that would probably last you all year for barter and you would have some left to keep for yourself to use.  Without the technology to refine harder drugs, or even stills to make alcohol, stuff like beer, wine, and weed will probably be more in demand.  I mean shit, I would definitely be able to deal with Armageddon better if I had some weed.  I think.  Although, I doubt we are seriously headed for any type of collapse.  I dont know MUCH about this, but I know that people that invest in foreign capital(it has something to do with exchange rates, I know that much) like to use the dollar because of its low interest rate.  They can borrow dollars, invest in foreign currency and make a killing.  Same thing the Yen was used for in the 90s.  Also, even though things are shit right now, I still think its just a self-correction for 8 years of no regulations.  As soon as all the chaff gets sifted away, all that will be left will be a solid viable economy, HOPEFULLY.  Probably a lot smaller than it has been in recent years, but at least it will be more based on actual commodities and work, instead of bullshit bubbles like the 'housing market'.  I've heard the speculation used a lot too, but to me it just sounds like people placing bets on whether a stock goes up or not, and there is no money being made on actual goods or work produced.  As soon as that part of the economy gets cut out, and we return to a goods/work based economy(if ever) the better of we will all be.  Well, kind of.  The fact hat we dont really produce anything domestically is kind of another issue.

[Elder Iptuous]

Hangshai,
some considerations:
-there is a limited supply of gold, but one must consider that there is above ground and below ground gold. there is a given cost at any time for extraction, a global rate of extraction, and rate of consumption (which if you consider jewelry to not be 'consumed' rather than 'stored' is pretty low, unlike, say, silver)  My point is, it's too simplistic to merely think that there is a pool of gold that people trade, and that's it...

-universally recognized as valuable?  Not entirely, but close enough for me!  Since this is a common point that people give in support of gold, many naysayers will have a pocket full of examples in which it isn't the case.  That's not really good as a statistical argument, as they are in the minority by a wide margin, but popping the bubble of 'universal' can be deflating to some new gold bugs.

-manufacturing... Despite a lot of rhetoric, the US is still the global leader in manufacturing as of 2008 data.  If china keeps up, they will pass us soon, but who knows what will happen in the near future.  Whatever the case, many people talk as if the US is not a player in world manufacturing and that's horsefeathers.  Guess what one of our number one products is that we manufacture?  Industrial supplies and manufacturing equipment...  just a point to consider.