Two Letters Re: My Family Preparedness Plan, by R.S.

Hugh,

As the article observes, silver will be more useful in small denominations. My question is: How will sellers recognize that “junk silver” has more than face value, and how will that value be determined? – RJB

HJL’s Comment: Junk silver has the advantage of being widely recognizable, and the smallish value as well as the wear and tear that it already has makes it harder to counterfeit. It certainly has a distinctive look to it and is easy to evaluate. It will not take long for that value to be recognized and established. As to what that value is? Whatever it takes for the seller to part with the silver and whatever the buyer is willing to spend. It’s only worth what you can sell it for.

o o o

HJL,

I was raised without electricity or running water pretty far out of any town. I will go back to that way of life and plan on living a simple, cautious life. It isn’t difficult if you have patience and appreciate the simple life. – puzltock

HJL’s Comment: Having already experienced that lifestyle, you have an advantage, but it may not be as simple as most think. My family always had a large garden (~100′ x 100′) while I was being raised, but when I made the decision to have my own garden I discovered that a lot of wisdom had not been passed on to me (or I just simply didn’t listen; children have than tendency.) Having my first garden was certainly not as easy as sticking a seed in the ground and watching it grow. It probably took me three or four years before I began to see a reasonable return on my labors in the garden. Most living skills are like that. While you can alleviate most issues like this by simply having a small garden that you practice with and enlarging it when the time is right (or whatever skill it is), there are some living skills that only get practiced when creature comforts are not available.