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Biblical money

MemeFan

Seasoned Member
Male
I remember reading posts by @Mark C about money in Bible. It always mentions silver. Strange, a little. Today gold is seen an superior to silver.

Was Hebrew economy based of some sort of silver standard or silver was used just for payments needed for temple service ans bride price?
 
The Hebrew word "qesef" MEANS silver. The very same word is ALSO translated into English as "money" (which is kinda funny, since most AmeriKans don't have clue what 'money' is anyway...)

The Constitution (back when it mattered) says nothing but "gold or silver COIN" shall be made a "tender in payment of debt..." (Article I, Sec. 10) and the Bible is clear that both metals that He made and references throughout Scripture have value, and can constitute "honest weights" that are so vital to dealing with one another in accord with His Word.

There's an old saying to the effect that gold is the money of kings, while silver is for the rest of us. (Yeah, even copper - which they now have expunged even from lowly pennies.)


No, gold isn't "superior" to silver; they both have a place, and silver is about 16-20X more common on the planet than gold, and historic ratios of value suggest that. NOW, however, gold is 'relatively overpriced' (do the ratio: on any given day it's closer to 80-to-1) which suggest to me, and other analysts who do more with the charts, that WHEN the inevitable "reversion to the mean" occurs, gold will explode in price relative to fiat dollars.

"Go into orbit" say some.

While silver goes to the moon...

The bigger point is, IMHO, WHEN the Mark of the Beast become undeniable, those who are attempting to "walk in obedience" will need an alternative for honest trade among themselves.

Guess what Scripture "strongly suggests" that will be?
 
No, gold isn't "superior" to silver; they both have a place

Agreed. Gold is good for large purchases but silver (and copper) are better for day to day expenses like groceries, gasoline, candy bars, and etc.

Like a $100 bill is useful for a fancy dinner out but not so useful to buy a liter of soda at the corner market.
 
Silver has usually been the money of the masses @MemeFan. Medieval Europe traded in silver pennies (name varied by language), which were based on the Roman denarius - the empire fell but the monetary system was copied, standardised and continued. Which is why "denarius" is translated "penny" in the KJV - they were essentially the same coin. And this is why the symbol for a penny is "d" for denarius, not "p" for penny.

It's a surprisingly fascinating topic, in fact this video kept even my children's rapt attention for an hour:
 
I remember a saying.

Gold is the money of kings.
Silver is the money of noblemen.
Barter is the money of peasants.
Debt is the money of slaves.

Copper should also be in there somewhere between silver and barter.

I might add to it.
Fiat currency is the money of fools.
Debt based fiat (what we all use) is the money created by the wicked.

In terms of my purchases, I tend to buy silver/gold at a ratio of 100/1. I think it's good to have some of both, but I prefer silver. Being middle class, I can't afford to buy a lot of gold.

For the silver, I like to buy a mix of 1 oz silver rounds, some sovereign currency (British, Canadian, Austrian, etc), and some pre 64 US 90% coins (dimes, quarters, and half dollars). Following Zec's advice, I also recently added some of the old 35% war nickels. American silver eagles seem overpriced to me.
 
"denarius"

The denarius is also the likely coin that Judas was paid when he betrayed Jesus. Thirty denarius represented thirty day's work or a bit more than a month's pay.

It's fascinating to me that the denarius devolved through debasement from being representative of a day's pay to occupying the economic slot occupied by the penny. In the meantime the modern silver dime emerged which to me is more accurately occupying the place of the denarius.

Ten silver dimes equals one ounce of silver (more or less) and in most places one dollar.

The value of a silver dime is about US$3 which in much of the modern third world can be a day's pay.

Not to get mired down in discussion of this coinage the more important thing to me is that there are so many things in our modern world that tie us right back to the days of Jesus. The Word is very much alive and very much present in our daily lives and we need only open our eyes to see it.
 
Remember that throughout the Middle Ages the penny was still a valuable coin, like the denarius. The debasement to near-worthlessness has really mainly happened over the last couple of centuries.
 
In terms of my purchases, I tend to buy silver/gold at a ratio of 100/1.
As I mentioned above, given "reversion to the mean," I'm a fan of silver at ANY price reflecting a greater discount than about 20:1 to gold.

For the silver, I like to buy a mix of 1 oz silver rounds, some sovereign currency (British, Canadian, Austrian, etc), and some pre 64 US 90% coins (dimes, quarters, and half dollars).
In the United States, I contend it's hard to beat pre-1965 "lawful US silver coin", the 90% silver, generally dimes and quarters. (Half-dollars, and even silver dollars are great to have, but for a number of years have carried a higher premium over the silver content...as have "silver eagles," etc. Some like the Kennedy halves between '65-'67, that hadn't been completely debased yet, so are cheaper, but worth less in silver.)

But they are 'lawful money,' and there are important legal issues on that score, as opposed to, say, "rounds".
 
As I mentioned above, given "reversion to the mean," I'm a fan of silver at ANY price reflecting a greater discount than about 20:1 to gold.


In the United States, I contend it's hard to beat pre-1965 "lawful US silver coin", the 90% silver, generally dimes and quarters. (Half-dollars, and even silver dollars are great to have, but for a number of years have carried a higher premium over the silver content...as have "silver eagles," etc. Some like the Kennedy halves between '65-'67, that hadn't been completely debased yet, so are cheaper, but worth less in silver.)

But they are 'lawful money,' and there are important legal issues on that score, as opposed to, say, "rounds".
I agree with your assessment that 90% US silver coinage is a good way to go. The trouble is that there isn't enough of it out there.

The premiums over spot are now higher on 90% than almost anything else (other than American Eagles). The premiums use to be much lower on the 90%. I'm glad I got some before COVID.

Regarding ratios, I agree that 20/1 is probably more realistic and at 80/1, silver is especially undervalued. I favor silver, but like to also have some gold for diversification.

With my 100/1 ratio, I mean that I try to buy 1oz of gold for every 100oz of silver. It's my preferred "stack ratio", not the "price ratio".
 
I am curious what in your minds is a good amount to stack? Originally I was under the impression of 10% of your total assets in metal, however as one becomes more wealthy this doesn't scale well. I was thinking somewhere around 100oz of silver and 1 oz of gold is a good starting goal for a single man. Topping at maybe 1000oz of silver and 10oz of gold for a man with a house and a wife, maybe 2. Until you have a larger family (multiple wives and sons) and can produce at least 90% of what you consume I see no reason to stack above that, short of being in an actual community utilizing metals for transacting. Thoughts?
 
I am curious what in your minds is a good amount to stack? Originally I was under the impression of 10% of your total assets in metal, however as one becomes more wealthy this doesn't scale well. I was thinking somewhere around 100oz of silver and 1 oz of gold is a good starting goal for a single man. Topping at maybe 1000oz of silver and 10oz of gold for a man with a house and a wife, maybe 2. Until you have a larger family (multiple wives and sons) and can produce at least 90% of what you consume I see no reason to stack above that, short of being in an actual community utilizing metals for transacting. Thoughts?
Depends how much food you've got stored. If the answer is "less than a month's worth", don't buy silver yet, you've got higher priorities.
 
I am curious what in your minds is a good amount to stack? Originally I was under the impression of 10% of your total assets in metal, however as one becomes more wealthy this doesn't scale well. I was thinking somewhere around 100oz of silver and 1 oz of gold is a good starting goal for a single man. Topping at maybe 1000oz of silver and 10oz of gold for a man with a house and a wife, maybe 2. Until you have a larger family (multiple wives and sons) and can produce at least 90% of what you consume I see no reason to stack above that, short of being in an actual community utilizing metals for transacting. Thoughts?
I've heard somewhere in the ballpark of 5-10% of your total net worth (including home equity, 401k, bank accounts, and everything). Jack Spirko from "The Survival Podcast" has long recommended 5-10%.

As @FollowingHim suggests, balance is needed and other things (such as food) should be a higher priority.

Before buying any significant silver or gold, I'd recommend having at least a basic amount of food storage (30+ days minimum), some basic cash reserves (say $1000-2000 bare minimum), some water storage and filtration ability (Sawyer mini filter minimum), first aid kit with tourniquet, fire extinguisher, winter clothing, blankets, tent, tools, etc. I'd also recommend having at least a couple weapons (handgun and long gun plus ammo). If I lived where I could not have guns, then I'd grab a few edged or melee weapons such as a bow, spear, machete, bat, knives, etc.

Another consideration is that an urban or suburban person should probably have a larger percentage of their assets in metals than a rural person who has a substantial amount of other tangible assets of value such as farmland, and equipment. The rural man is also able to provide for more of his own pwn needs (thus less need for gold and silver).

I think your estimate of 100 oz silver and 1 oz gold for a single man, and up to 1000 oz silver and 10 oz gold for a basic nuclear family man seem pretty reasonable.

If I get over the 1000+10 level myself, I will probably look to buy farmland or other assets instead.
 
Imho the 1000oz/10oz would be post farmland, post animals, hence the 90% self reliant requirement. Realistically it is only for a store of purchasing power in the event of a currency collapse or regime change. Unless it is being used to purchase land/equipment/major resources, it is collecting dust for what? If there is no plan for transacting with it or entity to transact with, what purpose does it serve in having it, short of a restart? If you are able to produce the majority of what you consume, what do you need to transact for? At what point is it just bragging rights?
 
The larger point is that when the money collapses, as EVERY SINGLE fiat currency (dishonest weight) in human history has, things get VERY ugly. Most people that haven't seen it, much less even studied history, just can't conceive of what is planned for them.

Those 10% allocations are for garden variety (every 80 years of so) Depressions and the occasional systemic failure. Everything about this NEXT one (from debt levels to open genocide, to unmasked Evil) says it will be of "Biblical proportions."

And even having lots of food on hand isn't enough it it can be readily stolen.
 
@Mark C That is where my thoughts on what purpose does more than 1000/10 pose if one is not already in a community that is utilizing metals for transacting? You will only become a target if trying to use it during chaos. If you can store metals what else might you have? Hence the idea being only good for a restart/relocation.
 
@Mark C That is where my thoughts on what purpose does more than 1000/10 pose if one is not already in a community that is utilizing metals for transacting? You will only become a target if trying to use it during chaos. If you can store metals what else might you have? Hence the idea being only good for a restart/relocation.
Close, but not close enough for what is planned.

Even those IN a community of believers are almost certainly not YET using silver for transactions, except perhaps as "practice" (I have advocated such for years: Buy a used car? Talk about it. Dentist, chiropractor, plumber? I've talked to many, and they are now aware. Maybe even selling a dozen eggs for real dime.)

But they WILL. And people who don't know why a 1964 dime is real, and a pot metal slug is not - will figure out it, about 48 hours into the crisis, or they won't make it.

But if you believe you might be able to make it, and "Bug Out" - you can hold $100K worth of current fiat in one hand in gold coins. Try carrying enough food for a family even in a high-profile Target Vehicle.

The targets are the ones who try to escape just a little too late...
 
Precisely, metals can be converted into any currency. Having enough on hand to pay your way through/onto/into something and then land and re-establish is really the only other purpose I can see for metals outside of an established community already using it for trade. Unless a community is where you land, you most likely won't be transacting in metals but converting to the accepted currency, which most likely won't be silver. The only purpose metals serve then is to store wealth for conversion/transition. Hence the ratio's I provided, for family size. I suppose silver is not worth holding unless you plan to transact with it. Gold is more for conversion/transition.
 
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