When the end of the world strikes, everything as we know it will be turned upside down, including the economy. But for the most part the world only knows a capitalist approach, and will have to find a new form of currency, and our eyes should turn to precious metals like silver and gold for
When the end of the world strikes, everything as we know it will be turned upside down, including the economy. But for the most part the world only knows a capitalist approach, and will have to find a new form of currency, and our eyes should turn to precious metals like silver and gold for a replacement. If you buy silver for SHTF there are a range of benefits, and even if you buy gold online instead, precious metals are the way to go.
The same kind of currency has been used for thousands of years already as a hedge against inflation, and it is only since we’ve moved away from this real wealth material to fiat currencies like the pound and dollar which are volatile and can collapse.
Although the elites would have everyone move into a digital banking system if electricity was still up and running, but there is a better way that can’t be tracked and traced.
Physical silver cannot be stopped in a same way as the government can freeze a bank account, or turn off your money supply if you are on a social credit system or benefits.
Notes are now useless, and coins are too heavy to carry, and aren’t worth much – that’s why choosing to buy silver is an excellent replacement. Some preppers will say ‘but you can’t eat silver so why stockpile it’, and they’re right to a certain extent, however if you have no cash either or digital money in the bank, and nothing to barter with, then silver is going to be widely more precious to purchase food with.
It has all the physical features that work well in a SHTF scenario, and there’s a number of additional benefits that make it the perfect way to barter, trade, and sell your way through disaster. When you buy silver for SHTF, you are giving yourself an added lifeline financially to still be independent, but here we will examine all the ways in which it can help.
Silver Is A Sure Thing Following A Bad Economic Period
If we’ve learned anything from recessions, whether it’s the 2008 one we all remember or the Great Depression of the early 1930s, it’s that the value of money can go up and down – and it isn’t always predictable.
This is especially true since the dollar was unlinked from the price of gold, and the fiat currency itself became the reserve.
Sometimes, money is directly linked to the SHTF situation – for example, during the American Civil War, the Confederacy printed huge numbers of dollar bills, leading to hyperinflation and a nosedive in the value of each cent. The same thing happened in Nazi Germany, where a wheelbarrow full of currency was needed to buy one loaf of bread, and it also happened in recent memory in Zimbabwe where the denominations of Zimbabwean dollars were up to one hundred trillion!
We can also use history to tell us something else – that precious metals, namely gold and silver, always hold roughly the same inherent value. As a prepper, you need to get ready for the worst – and it’s likely this will include a massive economic slump whatever happens.
If you’re up against a cyber-attack or AI takeover, then there’s a high chance all the money in your account will be simply wiped off the system.
The same goes for a nuclear attack on London where all of the world’s finances are organised. And physical cash will just be paper, so getting something like silver will holds its value throughout the hard times.
Silver Costs Much Less Than Gold To Buy
When speaking of gold and silver, they often go hand-in-hand – and rightfully so. They’re held in similar regard, although gold is undeniably more valuable, as there’s a lot less of it.
According to the WGC, there’s been 1.8m metric tons of silver mined, compared to only approximately 200,000 tons of gold. That’s why there’s such a huge price difference, and when you buy silver for SHTF events these precious metals together will hold their inherent worth.
In a SHTF scenario, most people will rush to buy precious metals as they will fundamentally understand that it holds intrinsic value as opposed to digital number on your online banking app, or paper (now plastic) pound notes.
Prices will shoot up as this happens, and if you already held silver you can almost guarantee that it will double or triple in price.
In regard to cost, silver is substantially less expensive than gold. In March 2022, one ounce of gold cost around £1,400, but the same ounce of silver only cost about £18.
So, you can have one solid gold coin, or 75 silver coins for the same price, meaning they are easier to barter with than handing someone gold, unless you’re buying something expensive with it.
The price of gold and silver does of course fluctuate, however in a crisis there’s only one way that the price of precious metals will go, and that is up.
For example, if you bought one ounce of silver in 1992 it would have cost you just £2, and in the modern day 30 years later that same ounce of silver is now worth ten times that amount.
The same goes for gold, as in 2005 an ounce of this metal cost around £250, but in 2020 just 15 years later it hit £1,500, a six-fold increase.
Those seem like big jumps as it is, but can you imagine the worth of precious metals if all the banking systems of the world collapsed?
It would sky rocket, and the £18 you spent on an ounce of silver today could be worth £180, £250 or much, much more in the space of just a few weeks. Then times that by the hundreds of silver coins you’ve purchased and you’d be in a pretty decent place financially for what is essentially a small investment.
The low price of silver also means that everyone can afford it, and not have to spend a month’s wages on just one ounce of gold. You can buy them in sets of 25, or just put £20 away per week towards it and then buy in bulk at the same time.
Silver Has A Lot Of Uses
Silver isn’t just found in your nan’s jewellery, or the posh cutlery your parents use when guests are round at Christmas.
It actually has a huge number of uses, and as we’ve highlighted in almost every post on this website, you should always aim for an inventory full of items that can be used in a wide array of scenarios.
Silver is frequently used as dental fillings, providing a medical purpose which is especially valuable in a survival situation. It’s also used to solder things together, meaning it has a value that can be applied to essentially any object that requires repair.
It’s also one of the main components of batteries, and although utilising it in this way would require some technical expertise, it does at least create another potential use.
Gold simply doesn’t function this way – and despite it being an adequate replacement in a number of these cases, it’s a much poorer material to use than its cheaper counterpart.
Silver Is Lighter Than Gold
As highlighted above, gold and silver are frequently compared as they’re held in similar regards. As we’ve also highlighted across this website, you want a survival cache consisting of portable objects that offer high value.
Silver is around 50% lighter than gold – with a one ounce bar of gold being almost twice the size as an ounce of silver.
This makes it the perfect precious metal to transport, as you can put it at the bottom of your bag or survival cache without it taking up too much room, while still being able to make the most of it.
This also makes it easier to carry around and trade with in small quantities, but if you wanted to buy something with a single gold coin, the worth of that is 75 times that of coins of silver.
It’s a lot like buying a bottle of wine with a ten pound note as opposed to giving the sales assistant a bag full of 2p coins at the checkout. Gold is more manageable than silver, but overall silver is lighter for bug out bags, especially if you want to transport 10kg bars.
Long History Of Silver Being Desired
Since our primitive ancestors, precious metals have always been something that’s been sought after.
Even in the Bible times, Judas betrayed Jesus for a highly desirable sum back then of 30 pieces of silver, and that was 2000 years ago, and it still retains its inherent worth even today. The Persians were thought to have first used minted silver coins some 600 years before that.
Whether it’s untreated ores found by chance near rivers or inside rocks, to fine jewellery and cutlery, people are always on the lookout for silver – that has never changed, and is unlikely to change during a SHTF situation.
Would you throw some silver away, or would the current world’s treatment of it lead you to hold onto it, just in case? Exactly. Even when we didn’t know its purposes or potential, we wanted it simply because it’s shiny.
That’s why in films like Children of Men and The Road, those in power are often shown wearing necklaces and rings of silver. It’s a sign of authority, and therefore a symbol of value, and one of the best barter items if some for of civilisation is still in tact.
How To Buy Silver Online
Due to there being a high quantity of the shiny stuff, silver is very easy to get – and also fairly cheap. You can get buy it second hand on websites, but we strongly recommend you go to trusted dealers for larger quantities.
There are so many scams out there and you can never be sure of its purity, and you don’t want to end up in a situation with silver you can’t barter with because of its very low quality. Sure, you can trade earrings and necklaces, but there is a much better way.
Here at British Prepper, we like to buy our silver coins and bars directly from the most reputable, most patriotic and most British source in these fair isles – The Royal Mint.
The Royal Mint is the world’s oldest mint and has been in operation since 886AD! This mint is owned by HM Treasury and exclusively supplies all of the UK’s high-quality coins.
When you buy silver online via the Royal Mint you can choose from a selection of coins and bars to suit your needs ranging from half ounce coins all the way up to 1kg bars.
Royal Mint silver bars and coins have multiple security features, so you won’t have any trouble when it comes to bartering, and they are stamped with the 999 seal which shows that they are pure silver as opposed to a mix of other metals.
It’s all well and good having little random nuggets of silver to weight out from a bag when it comes to trading, but who can resist a shiny authentically stamped British coin or bar with Britannia – the national symbol of Britannic heroism – right there on the face?
The Royal Mint does have a large selection of collectable items, such as the Queen’s Beasts coins and coins commemorating momentous British occasions, but for SHTF you’ll likely want to stick to the regular bars and coins as silver will be silver, and nicer more unique designs won’t fetch a higher price but will cost you more to buy.
Where Else Can I Buy Silver For SHTF?
There are lots of other places you can buy silver from, and if you want to buy it directly you can go to the local pawn shop or goldsmiths and take a look at the selection there, but you’re not likely to find freshly minted bars and coins.
When it comes to choosing to buy silver for SHTF, whether coins or bullion bars, then there are a handful of other UK online websites with a decent reputation. These include:
This is silver it in its purest form, but you can also buy old earrings, bracelets, and cutlery from places like antique shops, which are located throughout the UK and have them smelted into silver bars, however you have to be sure what you’re buying.
Summary
Clearly, silver is one of the wisest investments you can make. It benefits you in the current world, and following a disaster, it’s likely one of the best things you can purchase.
The best part is that it isn’t particularly expensive, is easily attainable, and can be stored anywhere due to its low weight, and high value for its size.
You can’t predict what’s going to go down, but you can at least get yourself as ready as possible – and opting to buy silver for SHTF scenarios – however much or little you can afford – is one of the best ways to do this.
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