Jim:
I am not surprised that ordinary people in Dallas, Texas (or anywhere else in the US) are not aware that pre-1965 US quarters and dimes are 90% silver. After 40 years of continual dumbing down the average high school graduate today probably couldn’t tell you what the word “sterling” means either.
I just checked Dex Online for coin dealers in Dallas, Texas. Dex brought up 18 coin dealers. Dex also brought up 18 antiques and collectibles dealers (who always know the value of old coins.) I don’t think there would be a problem converting pre-1965 “junk” silver coins into whatever new currency replaces the US dollar after the collapse.
Nearly every town in the US with a population of 10,000 or more has at least one coin dealer. Every coin dealer knows the value of pre-1965 “junk” silver coins. So does every jeweler and every pawn shop (not recommended.)
In my estimation it will take perhaps one week after the final collapse of the US dollar before people will be pawning their wedding bands and emptying out their kids’ coin collections. It won’t take long before everybody knows what still has value. Gold and silver have always kept their value since long before the Roman Empire.
If anybody still thinks that pre-1965 90% silver coins will be difficult to use after the collapse of the US dollar, then I recommend buying a copy of A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009 by R. S. Yeoman. (It is often just referred to by its nickname, “The Red Book.”) Every Barnes & Noble store sells these.
In the mean time it would be a good idea to begin to equate the values of common good to an ounce of silver today. At $17/oz. one ounce of silver buys six gallons of gasoline in most parts of the US, for example. Figure this out for every necessity. Write it down on a legal pad for reference. Begin to educate your family and friends.
Post-US dollar collapse their will be a mass re-education in the values of gold and silver – out of sheer necessity.
Sir:
As in all civilizations, there will be traders that buy/sell/trade stuff professionally. These are the market-makers. Their expertise is knowing what things are worth to other people. Most trading will not be with your local neighbors, but with market-makers (think swap meets, traveling traders, etc). Average people will learn what items have value from the market-makers. They will learn quickly that a few silver coins is a lot more convenient than a 45 pound bucket of wheat to take to the swap meet.
Obviously, the more stuff you have to trade, the better, but silver should be among your stockpiles. – Brett
Dear CPT Rawles,
Some time ago, I wrote you concerning the Hyper-Inflation I witnessed in Romania following the collapse of Communism in the 1990s. You published my observations in the blog.
What I did not tell you at that time, was that the Romanians were widely using old silver coinage, much from the old Austro-Hungarian Empire days, as a regular means of paying for such things as food.
Even though the Romanian Lei, nearly died out as a currency, in favor of the Deutsche Mark, US Dollar and British Pound, old silver coins were widely used! It didn’t take long for folks to accept old Austro-Hungarian silver coins as a viable means of barter etc. While this was illegal, I never heard of any enforcement efforts being made by either the regular police, or the Romanian Securatate.
Your assessment that pre-1965 90% silver coins will be widely used following the collapse of the fiat currencies is a sound prediction of what may yet come to pass. Initially, some may refuse to accept a silver quarter dollar as anything more than 25 worthless cents. But, it won’t be long until everyone will gladly accept a real dollar (in silver coins) as the “real deal.”
Americans are not stupid. Sometimes we are deceived by government and politicians, but not for long. Regards, – Michael B