>My thought is to buy guns, ammo, food, energy, booze and other tangible goods so when the fiat collapses as it just did in Cuba (aljazeera.com), you have real stuff to barter. This is where your a fag. You can do all of the above, and have extra. Not mutually exclusive. If we're to the point of bartering for ammo, I'd have killed you already. There's no amount of preparation you can do to survive that scenario. You'll want God and a bit of luck at that point. If that doesn't happen then silver will be a fine medium of exhange as it has done for thousands of years. However all those goods you suggest in excess will perish. >I buy very little gold or silver mostly because I don't trust the sellers. This is just poisoning the well because there are many ways that are easy and quickly verifiable. What you're saying is straight ignorance. That's not an argument. >Also, when the fiat currency fails, how will people know how much gold you're giving them. This is a problem that has been solved many times through thousands of years of use. Again, your ignorance isn't an argument. >Yea, small coins are cool, but it seems like a difficult question to answer now. 90% silver is easily recognizable, known weight and extremely difficult to counterfeit. Likely your best way to get into silver if you're genuinely interested.