OK, I'm curious, what is it you think is going to happen exactly? I know times have been tough lately and things might get worse, but do you really think things are going to devolve into a Mad Max type post-apocalyptic world?
As far as the topic goes, I collect coins, but I just can't get into modern Lincoln cents. The mintage is too high for them to ever really be that collectible. I guess if the melt ban is ever lifted someone could make some money hoarding tons of them, but it's not like the price copper is likely to sky rocket enough to make a modest collection that valuable.
I don't think it will get "madmax" style, but my preparations will get me through something like that. I do think that store shelves will be empty because the cost of food is going to skyrocket. I think once our dollar collapses, we will have a brief period of time that will see silver being used as currency until a new financial system can be established. During this brief period of time, people will go hungry. This happens in other countries all the time. We just don't think it will happen to us. It will, debt to GDP says it will. Not a matter of IF but rather WHEN. I think in the next five years, maybe sooner.
Basically, everything that our gov't has done has done absolutely nothing for the economy and we are fast approaching 100% debt to GDP (100% debt to GDP on Halloween). Factor in a trade war with China and our exposure to european banks in the form of credit default swaps, and we have a recipe for disaster. The gov't fix is stimulus, which fixes nothing. The job bill creates zero growth. Anyone can pay someone to dig a hole and fill it back up; fixes nothing, only makes it worse because now we are spending money on a "fix" that fixed nothing. Sure, roads will be smoother, bridges will be better built, but what does that matter when the factories aren't putting out the products?
I suggest watching two videos on youtube, first is a YT search for "Peter Schiff was right". This guy predicted everything that happened so far, and the YT videos show "financial experts" literally laughing at him. The second video I would recommend, "Peter Schiff testifies before congress". Two MUST WATCH videos. The congress video is great, he really spelled out to congress what will happen in the very very near future.
As another posted already said, check argentina, zimbabwe and the weimar republic for some examples of how government printing of money has caused financial collapse in their own countries. With the USA, it will be ALOT worse. We are the reserve currency of the world. Once other countries find another safe haven, we will truly be screwed. Once OPEC prices oil in something other than the USD, we will be screwed. The government is already borrowing 40% of all the money we spend, with zero intention of every paying any of it back. The fix? Borrow more. Its not a democrat thing or a republican thing, this is a government thing. When Nixon took us off the gold standard, that was our undoing. We became a completely fiat currency at that point in time, we also became the reserve currency. Now if keynesian history repeats itself (which it will), then that means the US had 40 years before the currency became 'worthless'. We hit that 40 year mark last month and we are now seeing a 98% reduction in the value of a dollar. That means what costed 2 cents in 1971 will cost us a dollar now. Ahh, gotta love inflation right? US citizens are being robbed in the form of inflation.
Not me. I hedge with metals, cant rob the value of a metal and history has proven time and again that silver and gold are always the goto currency when a fiat currency collapses. ALL FIAT CURRENCIES COLLAPSE. There is not a fiat currency ever, in the history of any country in the world, that hasn't collapsed. We are no different, we aren't special. We just have a country full of ignorant people that thing 'it wont happen to us, we're the usa'. Truth is, those are going to be the people that will starve.
I could go on and on but I really suggest searching the youtube videos I mentioned above, they spell it out in clear terms. Once watching those, you'll see things in a different light.
Youtube search for:
Peter Schiff was right
Peter Schiff testifies before congress (this one is really recent, last couple months)