WHAT IS BARTER?

Barter means the trade or exchange of valuable goods/services directly between two persons without the use of official currency. 

Barter usually replaces paper money as the method of exchange in times of monetary crisis, when the currency is unstable, unreliable and devalued by hyperinflation. Bartering is still common in the present and is becoming more popular as the US Dollar is devaluated or hyper-inflated. 

This method of trade eliminates the middle man “Uncle Sam” and allows two or more people to come to a fair agreement about what each item is worth to them and make an honest trade.

Some examples of bartering would be: You paint someone’s house, and in return that person repairs your car; or, you barter 3 coins of silver for a new pair of shoes, etc.  You get the point.

SILVER IS AN IDEAL BARTERING ITEM FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. Recognition: It is a precious metal that is recognized and widely accepted as a valuable item by people across the globe.  This makes silver an easily accepted bartering item for almost anything that is for sale.  Whereas in a barter situation where you may have some item other than silver and the merchant does not want to trade for that “other” item, this makes it more difficult for you.
   

1. Convenience: Silver’s value is currently very convenient when you are bartering for everyday items.  An ounce of silver worth about $30 will be more convenient to trade for some food worth $30 than even a 1/4 ounce of gold worth over $300. 
   

Using Gold or Large silver bars for small purchases may leave you short-changed, since in difficult economic times some merchants may not have exact change to give you for your large valuable items, so it’s best to come prepared with the right amount. 

Junk silver coins in particular excel more in bartering situations since the dimes, quarters, and half dollars contain convenient amounts of silver needed for smaller purchases.

1. Safety: Silver is Safer than Gold in bartering situations.  When you use Gold you are in essence “flashing” or “signaling” your wealth to prying eyes and run a risk of being robbed or targeted by criminals.  Junk Silver excels in safety as well as convenience since these coins are usually not large or flashy, and look like regular pocket change.
   

1. Value: Silver Increases in value over time and this makes it a more desired item to possess, since it resembles an asset, hence, you may use this fact as extra leverage in your barter situation if necessary.  In addition, there are reports that there’s about 5X less World Silver reserve than Gold.
   

How to Calculate Barter Value of Silver Coins