Question for you all...

[Big_Saw]

This subject has been very enlightening. Thanks to all who contributed, and keep it coming! By the way, I just figured out Big Saw's true indentity, he's the "Boggy Creek Monster".

Shhhhhhhhh!

[David M.]

This subject has been very enlightening. Thanks to all who contributed, and keep it coming! By the way, I just figured out Big Saw's true indentity, he's the "Boggy Creek Monster".

[Big_Saw]

Eeeeeeeeexactly.........

[kenno]

HARD goods or COLD cash

Eat Drink and be Merry for tommorow we die!
That is where the economy and the dollar is right now. if you have dollars, buy hard goods or Cold (metal) cash. You can trade gasoline, medicine, ammo, booze, tobacco, gold, silver, for food.
You can buy heating oil, gasoline, a bus load of whoop ass, a collage education, anything, with gold.
Imagine hauling a $1000 dollars worth of ammo around as a barter item, you would need to guard it night and day. Now imagine hauling $1000 dollars worth of gold (less than 1 ounce).
It does not matter why gold has value, it just does, and rember if the price of gold drops, it is because the value of the dollar has gone-up and goods cost less. You can never 'make money' on gold, even if there is a black market due to runaway inflation, but you cannot 'loose money' either. Instead of 'money' insert "Buying Power".
In the Great Depression Grandpa furnished his home and bought Parker shotguns for 5 cents on the dollar because the dollar was strong but no one had a job, so the demand for goods was zero. There was no inflation because the dollar was still backed by gold, there was deflation, because everyone was out of a job and selling off goods to bring in cash to stay alive. In the Great Depression a man could live well on $1 a day.
Now we have a Depression AND Inflation, even if you have a job, a good job, your wages buy less every day as prices rise. Fuel, Rent, Insurance, Everything goes up, including the jobless, who want your job.
If you have no storage space buy gold in 1/10th OZ coins. You'll be able to barter these instead of dollars and get a discount at privately owned stores if the dollar goes belly-up.

[cbprice797]

Gold for Dollars???

Ok here is the deal on the exchange of their GOLD for your Dollars. It is two fold.

1st as mentioned before by someone they are not actually selling you any tangible gold. What they are selling you is a certificate that states that you have boguht from them xx ounces of gold. You CANNOT ever retrieve your "gold" since you are buying a paper that says you own it. If you decide to sell it you will pay a commission just as you did when buying it, they get you coming and going. So the gold needs to go up $100 dollars or more for you to come out ahead. They on the other hand come out ahead whether it goes up, down, or remains the same price. Same principle applies when you add gold to your stock portfolio you do not have any tangible gold just paper.

2nd reason they are willing to do this is the dollar still has value. They can invest in all sorts of things with those dollars. Once they are spent it does not matter if they go down in value. While it is losing value it still has value.

[Big_Saw]

Who knows for sure....I think the dollar's been doomed since the gold standard was done away with......I think we're just due.....

[David M.]

Well, after a brief discussion with a "blue dog" fellow employee, I've come to this conclusion. There's not a sane answer. He has total confidence in the US dollar, and says it's all a scam/knee jerk reaction to get you to buy gold while they make all the money. Maybe he's partially correct in his assumption. Some of you share similar thoughts. Thanks for the input.

[Visinedrops]

Regarding the whole "gold buying and selling" advertisements on TV...I happen to believe that these companies are working together. People send their gold jewelry to a company, and are paid for it. More than likely, it's somewhere between 30 and 50% of actual market value of the gold. They then take that gold and sell it to another company at a 30% profit margin, where that company sells the gold at 10% above market value to people who are wanting to buy gold.

The company that buys the gold from you gets a profit by selling it to the company that wants to sell gold to the public, making a profit by charging more than the current asking price of gold.

Why would someone want to exchange their gold for worthless paper? So they can afford to buy useless junk from Wal-Mart that they've wanted but just couldn't afford.

[David M.]

Well, let's put this whole thing into perspective. Let's say I have some new in the box series 70 Colt 1911's I bought in 1979 for $400 bucks each. They are new,and unfired. My pistols are worth over a grand now, and you've got a Hi Point 9mm that's had it's guts shot out. You want to trade me for one of my Colts. I bad mouth your pistol every time I see it. I tell you it's junk. Then, I call you and tell you I want your pistol, because you need one of my Colts. It doesn't make good sense. Unless, as always, there's another agenda....

[Dracos]

Hopefully you are refering to Charles Bronson In "Death Wish." As to why you would stash 20 lbs. of silver coins, Probably you did it because you are wise.

[monet861]

I know this is off the original question, but the trade issue is why I keep 20 lbs or so of silver dimes. A gold coin might be worth $1k, but a couple of dimes might be good for some food or ammo. Or you just fill your sock and whack away.

Like I said off OP topic.

[Big_Saw]

Well, I'm glad you are thinking. There are stamps put on gold bars. They can be faked but are generally trusted. But one thing that can not be faked is the specific gravity of gold. You can put some water in a graduated cylinder and put some gold in. The water level will rise by EXACTLY the amount of water the gold displaces. Easy. Cheats would be caught and dealt with. I'm not likely to buy toilet paper with gold. But I may buy the store.

In a shtf scenario, I wouldn't trade my TP for any amount of coin anyway :D ....

[Dracos]

Well, I'm glad you are thinking. There are stamps put on gold bars. They can be faked but are generally trusted. But one thing that can not be faked is the specific gravity of gold. You can put some water in a graduated cylinder and put some gold in. The water level will rise by EXACTLY the amount of water the gold displaces. Easy. Cheats would be caught and dealt with. I'm not likely to buy toilet paper with gold. But I may buy the store.

[Big_Saw]

Dunno....but I wish I had 100,000 bucks worth of it :D .....as for bartering with it-there are a dozen simple tests to authenticate gold purity, from drop tanks to simple chemical swabs...even the old fashioned bite test....silver is actually harder to verify...but figure this: In a post-shtf world, where real justice has returned....I sure as hell wouldn't wanna be caught slinging false coin.....jmo

[hubste5]

There is a multitude of the population who do not think like we do, their logic is based on today and tomorrow, not next week, or next year. They do not belive that there is a storm coming...