malachii said:
Whether banks fail or not has little to do with the "backing" of the paper money. This is the difference I was trying to point out before. Banks may fail (Bank of Vic anyone? - I know, it didn't fail but would have if the CBA hadn't "come to it's rescue". Pyramid is an example of a failure but was a building society) but that does not mean our currency will be worthless. We will still have commodites to sell, people to pay taxes, carbon taxes to pay and GST to relieve people of their hard earned.
If they all fall due to a domino effect, physical cash will become sparse.
The banks hold most of the currency (whether backed by them or the goverment), so while the currency may not be worthless, it will not be in sufficient quantities to support the economy.
(By holding it I mean peoples bank balances - not many people keep stacks of cash at home)
malachii said:
The banks will have an interesting time if/when our property bubble "pops" but a lot of the more toxic debts will have pushed on to others (check where your superannuation fund is investing - makes for interesting/worrying reading if you really believe there will be a major fall out from a property bubble!).
Depending on the timing that may seal their fate.
If super gets wiped out by GFC2 there won't be much for the taking @_@
Personally, I don't have super. It may get plundered eventually
malachii said:
If banks do close their doors (still as possible as back in the 1890s) I'm not sure how much good PMs will really be. I know I would be reluctant to swap my food/equipment etc for PMs. Maybe gold - but not silver - it's value relies too much on industrial uses and if there is a SHTF scenario - the main demand of silver will plummet causing an excess of silver on the market. Just look at GFC1 for an introduction to that.
It'll take a dive alright, I'm pretty much expecting that.
However the trade would be with physical silver, and "on the field" I think it will be seen as more valuable than the paper value.
The same could be said for gold. Even if the charts say $300, would people believe that the ounce in hand is really worth that much?
*holds an ounce out in palm for a sack of potatoes*
I think during those times it's value, like the value of other commodities, will be based on perception rather than what the collapsed market says.
On that note, I think food will be worth more than gold or silver.