Ammunition: The New American Currency

I was in the airport today, on my way to Omaha, Nebraska, when I heard a guy behind me, while talking to his friend say “ammo is the new currency”.  I thought that was an interesting take on the subject of currency, so I figured I would write this real quick on my flight.

It is important to remember that currency is nothing more than a fungible means of regulating the marketplace.  Currency can be just about anything that has intrinsic value to someone else.  If I have cows and you have hay, then hay can be considered a currency.  Well, the same correlation can be made for gun owners.  Guns need ammunition to function properly, and right now due to political circumstances which came from a horrible National Tragedy, ammunition as a currency, is on the rise.

If I have a cache of 223 rounds of ammunition, which typically fit an AR 15, this cache is worth considerably more now, than it was if I were to sell it before the horrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.  I could take this cache of 223′s to Any Gun Show USA and have absolutely no problem exchanging this ammunition for just about anything.  Often times we overlook the intrinsic value of things in our possession.  Typically money is portrayed as the ONLY means of exchanging something of value for something else of value.  The fact that a dollar is a dollar to me, to you, and to the grocery store is why it is so accepted, along with its easy portability.  Now, with debit and credit cards, it causes us to be even more dependent on the value of dollars.  With the real possibility of inflation in the near future; being tied to paper money will certainly be a bad thing.  That is why it is best to invest in things that have intrinsic value to other people and products.  Silver is a good example of this, because it used in so many products like iPads and solar panels.  Ammunition, like silver is getting quite a bit of attention right now.  Once Washington and the media do its best to spin the meaning of what our Founding Fathers meant with regard to the Second Amendment, then the value of ammunition as a currency, will fall.

A little perspective on inflation…..If I have in my possession that cache of 223 rounds of ammunition; and right now the market is yielding two boxes of 223 rounds (50 rounds in a box) in exchange for one handmade leather holster.  If the economics of this currency change due to some market or political influence, and now the value of that same handmade leather holster is 4 boxes of ammunition, then 100% inflation has occurred.  The same phenomenon is happening to our  dollar denominated currency that we as americans so heavily depend on.  Moral of the story…do your best to collect other means of “currency” which have value to a broad range of people. Due your best to diversify and protect your wealth!