What does that mean, money when there is no money? What we’re talking about is when the day comes when paper money or coin money is meaningless. After a large natural or social disaster, it probably won’t matter how much your house was worth or how much money you had in your savings account. There might not be any difference between a one dollar bill and a hundred dollar bill, because no one will want to be paid that way.

If the banking system as we know it collapses, people will still want to be paid for their goods and services, right? Few people will give away their stored food or water, or bullets or boat rides without expecting to get anything in return. If you have food or services to barter, that’s great. But if you don’t, you’ll still need to offer some sort of payment. If no one wants to take your paper currency, say, to give you a ride somewhere or in exchange for helping you fix something, you simply won’t be able to get that help.

There is something, though, that has historically maintained its value and will always be in demand: metals. There’s a company called CombiBar that makes bars of gold or silver manufactured with predetermined breaking points, so, just like a Hershey bar when you only want to share two squares, you can break off a chunk of gold or silver worth 1 gram. These bars are small enough to fit in a wallet or pocket. CombiBars are available in increments of 50 x 1g gold, 20 x 1g gold, 100 x 1g silver or 10 x 10g silver bars. They are also available in silver as legal tender rectangular coins in increments of 100 x 1g CombiCoin or 10 x 10g CombiCoin (based on Cook Island currency) and as 50g palladium and platinum CombiBars.

Money When There is No More Money

We’re intrigued by this idea and if you don’t trust bank accounts, putting your money in gold or silver certainly seems to make more sense. It can be bought by any metals dealer for current market rates, and if shit does hit the fan, chances are good you can find someone who will take it. The manufacturer of these products is in Switzerland, and the website doesn’t give much (any, really) explanation for why Cook Islands currency was chosen as the coin increment. A little internet research didn’t reveal much more information either other than that these coins are backed by the Cook Island government. And, the coins have a unique Cook Islands scene on them, making the attractive. What do you think? Worth having a 100 gram bar in your pocket or bug-out bag, just in case?