Metals, a Hedge or Investment Depending on Your Views... or a Sucker's Bet?

[Mary Stetler]

Once you budding McDucks begin stacking, it probably doesn't hurt to be aware that silver can be delicate and should not be stored with gold.

Tarnishing and Corrosion:​

Silver tarnishes easily, and when stored with gold, it can transfer this tarnish to the gold, causing discoloration.​

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Galvanic Corrosion:​

When two different metals are in contact, they can create a galvanic cell that accelerates corrosion, potentially damaging both metals.​

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Alloys and Purity:​

Different types of gold (like 10k, 14k, 18k, etc.. up to but not including pure 24k) have different alloy compositions, and these alloys can react differently with silver, leading to potential issues.​

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Physical Damage:​

Even without chemical reactions, storing items together can lead to scratching or denting, especially if they are different shapes or sizes.​

These are issues for bullion, numismatic coins, or jewelry items.

One other thing to know is that Temu has been selling counterfeit silver dollars for quite a while and they are showing up on ebay and at coin shops (turned down when checked by dealers) I bought one for $1.75 just to see one from Temu. I could instantly feel it was lighter and thinner. The 'tarnish' rubbed off but could be replaced if one were into that kind of thing.

 

[Mary Stetler]

I was advised to buy junk silver back in the eighties along with freeze dried food. (the latter is still quite edible). We have hubby's house and my farm but also a bug out bag and a granny shopping cart if not a travois.
The latest floods show that you can't be prepped for everything and carrying even one bag of silver is like carrying a bowling ball.
In my bug out bag I have a couple of good knives, a sharpener, a flint and other fire starters (Just saw a YT about nettle being the BEST tinder. I like dry pine needles too.), Stalking The Wild Asparagus... Gotta find my snare wire. A hatchet--all slightly heavy. Socks, emergency blankets, GSE...
If you have nothing and have been robbed, the one thing they can't take is knowledge. Try stuff out now. I know my aim is off often now. My hands shake and I can't walk. I can improve some but not if I don't now.
Problem is, we might survive but will we thrive and with mosquitoes would we want to.
; )

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

I doubt you really need to throw a bag of silver into the pack on your back as you disappear into the woods.

More likely even if you did you'd make a number of "drops" along the way. Double up ziplock sandwich bags with half a handful of coins. Bury them on the far-side bases of trees away from your trail.

10 dimes should bring $27 in trade. Same for 4 silver quarters or two half-dollars. You can fit $50 in trade silver in one little change purse with no strain. Carrying one of these in each of two pockets should be enough to bring a full tank of gas if needed.

But maybe I'm off on this. I haven't thought about it much before.

 

[Don Alaska]

Maybe somebody can clarify this for me, but there seems to be a distinction between a "coin" and a "round" of metal. I think this is close:

A coin is almost always struck in minting, a round might be struck or cast.

A coin always is (or once was) legal tender, a round never is. The round is simply coin-like in shape and features.

Both coins and rounds have been minted by private organizations as well as governments. Today coins are almost entirely the province of government mints though.

Private "tokens" are a third thing. Not coins, but not merely rounds of metal. Historically these were used in "company towns" and frontier villages for strictly local trade. Today they are most common for things like gaming or transportation.

A round is just a standardized unit, a hunk of metal. Though "standardized" mainly just in weight and purity, usually without guarantees though some "private mints" who issue them have a high community reputation.


I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Every hobby seems to garner its own lexicon and lore and conventions. I found that similar things exist among people who collect old porcelain mini-dolls and doll heads. Or (and this can overlap with the latter) people who collect old crap found along riverbanks and beaches and even in old dumps. Until just a few years ago I don't think I had ever heard of "mudlarking."

Sounds like you fully understand the difference between a round and a coin to me.