There is a lot of concern worldwide that the U.S. Dollar is weak and facing tumultuous times ahead.  This concern is justified, as we have printed 2.5 times the money supply in just 18 months, and anytime in history when a government has turned on the printing presses to pump liquidity into the markets, eventually that currency inflates dramatically.  There have been times in history where printing lead to hyperinflation and eventual collapse.  The most famous example is Germany from 1919 to 1923 when gold went from 170 Deutsche Marks to 87 trillion Deutsche Marks.  The most recent example would be Zimbabwe whose currency was inflating over 1 million percent a year until the currency died in April of 2009.

What is most interesting about the case of Zimbabwe is that we actually got to see what happened when the currency collapsed.  Citizens of Zimbabwe began panning and digging for gold in rivers and mountains in the hopes of obtaining mere grains.  They would then take this into the city and buy products with it.  Gold as an alternative currency to the dollar is very viable option, and some would say the only viable option to fiat paper currencies.  Gold and silver are both considered to be monetary metals and are a good option for bartering.

On this site we frequently talk about rare gold coins.  But in the instance of bartering rare gold coins are not the way to go.  Rare gold coins are typically used for growth in a portfolio which can later be converted to quantity if so desired.  But under the circumstances of a currency collapse gold and silver bullion in small denominations is what will be most desired.  The smaller the denomination the easier it will be to barter with.  For example, if you have a 1 ounce American Eagle gold coin and gold has shot up to $50,000 per ounce because the dollar is worthless, it will be harder to barter with than 1/10 of an ounce worth $5,000.  Now prices will have inflated along with gold going up, but I wanted to draw a picture in your mind.

Silver will be even easier to use as an alternative currency due to its low value.  Bartering with 1 ounce of silver today with a spot price at $17.41 makes buying anything with that easy.  It is prudent to have some barter-able gold and silver in your portfolio.