My critical thinking and observations tell me these things.
Baby boomers and older know 'old money' had silver. They do not know the specifics, but that is easy, if the concept is understood.
No, not everyone is a boomer, but every family has one, and in times of catastrophes, families reconnect. In a social catastrophe, age groups reconnect, for the mutual benefit. All age groups contribute, as needed.
In the days and weeks leading up to this SHTF, or less, there will be electricity.
There will be talking heads on TV, discussing this 'new' form of money, that is actually old money.
There will be facebook, twitter, or their replacements.
Word will spread.
Trust will be a rare commodity.
What is easier to trust - old money being used when your parents were first married, or a brand new shiny piece of metal without the backing of any country?
I mean really.
'Here, this thing that looks kind of like a coin, with the image of a prospector, is worth more than those silver Crowns that other guy has."
'Sorry mate, I know what a crown/dollar is, I've never seen that thing before.'
My concern is that in some communities, a dollar is a dollar, and an ASE is worth no more than an 1881 Morgan dollar.
If there is a fair amount of junk silver circulating - and I have no doubts there will be, based on the number of pieces being hoarded - a trustworthy junk silver dollar may be considered to have the same worth as some generic .999 round no one has seen before.
And how are you folks making change from a dollar - which could be worth not $20 fiat, but $100.
Where are these tenths and quarters coming from, that are so quickly shunned due to the high premium?
Will everything cost at least one ounce of silver?
Junk silver will be making change for the one ounce, and 10 oz bars so popular among dedicated stackers.
Merchants want consumers to buy the latest and greatest, when the tools in the shed work just fine.
When it comes to knowledge, the world is small, tiny.
24 hours after the first junk silver coin is used in place of fiat, the world will know.
"In Seattle today, Starbucks started accepting pre 1965 quarters as payment in full for a cup of coffee - will the competition follow?'
So seriously, why would any uninformed citizen accept one of the many, many, generic rounds as 'money', while refusing a fine piece of junk silver - even a slick - except for education.
You seem to think these uninformed citizens who know nothing about the worth of junk silver, will suddenly understand this whole culture of bullion silver stackers, with government bullion, private mint rounds, bars, cards, and other forms of what could be 'money'.
A community, a nation, can quickly learn the new value of their old money, far easier that the value of bullion in this new system.
That's how I see it.
I want premium silver if the world economy does well. Provide the wants because the needs are so easily met.
I want bullion silver if the world economy does not so well, and hard commodities have value beyond fiat paper or computer chip credits.
Tell me there will be a total collapse of the dollar - and I believe most of us agree that if one falls, they all fall - and I want junk silver, lots of it (after rice/beans, brass/lead).
And so I diversify, since when it comes to specifics, my crystal ball is better at hunches, than sure things.
Rebuttals encouraged.
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I wonder too why people buy gold - if they anticipate a failure of fiat.
Imagine if you only had tenths to buy your needs - worth, say $300 fiat.
I'm old enough to remember when the merchant did not want your business, if your smallest bill was $100 - since he did not have the change.
I can imagine your ounce of gold being worthless, unless you were spending the whole thing.
Gold for kings, silver for the gentry - if PM is money. Now if everything is fine, and no failure of the dollar, and PM is a store of wealth, gold may do well.
Gold bugs are bullish on the global economy, as I see it.