Change You CAN Believe In

I would hope everyone has made arrangements before now, but if not:



I recommend pre-1965 dimes and quarters as backup currency. A silver dime has been able to purchase a can of soup ever since it was minted in 1964, and it still does today. A quarter should buy a simple meal, as in soup and a sandwich with a glass of water. (People all over the world live on much less.)

The problem with silver ounces, bars and any form of gold is making change. Unless the person you're trading with has a bunch of quarters and dimes of his own, you'll have a hard time getting change for your Krugerrand when you buy groceries.

If you're new to the game, I wouldn't even start on gold until I had hundreds of dollars (face) worth of US Mint 90% silver on hand. If you now have gold but no silver, the ratio is very favorable to trade.

My best advice is to befriend a local independent coin dealer and make regular small purchases as often as you can. It's getting late, so don't worry much about price. Precious metals are a storehouse of wealth, and wealth evaporation is the major problem looking forward from here. Keep at it - slow and steady wins this race.