There are a lot of natural disasters and possible SHTF scenarios where bartering will become the new normal form of currency. Depending on how desperate the situation is, popular barter items might become more valuable than gold. Especially in a prolonged disaster.
The problem is that once you find yourself in one of these SHTF scenarios, and you need to barter for something, you risk trading valuable stocks that you need to survive. Now, you’re probably aware that things like freeze-dried meals, firearms, camping supplies, and water filtration devices will be of high value.
Yet, some other less-thought-of items could have a barter value better than gold.
Antibiotics
If someone in another group is sick or suffering from a serious infection, antibiotics will have a higher value than gold. Of course, some antibiotics have longer shelf-life than others, and some are better at treating certain types of infection. So, it’s wise to have an assortment of some of the following antibiotics.
Cefoxitin sodium powder can remain shelf stable for up to 18 months when stored in a cool, dry, dark place.
Colistin in its dry form can be stored at high temperatures without degrading.
Doxycycline capsules are a powerful broad-spectrum antibiotic that can be stored for up to 3 years when kept at 15 to 30°C and protected from light and humidity.
Metronidazole capsules are great for treating digestive system infections and can remain effective for up to three years when stored in a cool, dark, dry place.
Amoxicillin tablets are effective for treating minor infections with minimal side effects. If kept in a cool, dark, dry place they can remain effective for up to 2 years. They’re also a widely recognized antibiotic that almost everyone has taken, which could make them easier to barter than lesser-known antibiotics.
But since antibiotics are typically not available over the counter, here is an ingenious way to stockpile antibiotics without a prescription, before it’s too late.
Feminine Hygiene Products
In a prolonged disaster, feminine hygiene products will continue to increase in value with the female population. This is a widespread issue, and assuming you have female members of your group, it’s already wise to be heavily stocked up on tampons, pads, panty liners, and similar personal hygiene supplies.
The volume you need to have in-house is an important baseline. This starts with 20 to 30 pads and 15 to 20 tampons per female member of your group per month. The wise move is to make sure you have at least a three-month supply for each person as a starting baseline. Anything beyond that could be considered for potential barter.
Batteries
Solar panels and generators are more accessible today than ever before. There will likely be a surprising number of people who can produce small amounts of electricity. Yet they might not necessarily have the means to store all the power they produce in a day. Especially people who have simple consumer-grade solar panels for camping.
To those who have solar panels, a retail wind generator, or a small generator, a well-maintained lead-acid battery could be worth its weight in gold. A lithium-ion battery could hold even better-perceived value as they tend to have a longer lifespan.
Of course, 12-volt batteries aren’t the only thing to keep in your barter arsenal. Small rechargeable batteries and properly stored alkaline batteries will also become high-value items as a SHTF scenario drags on. Tons of people will need them to power their flashlights and headlamps, without having to resort to Medieval-style torches to see at night. Of course, if you want to produce your own electricity this is something you should ad to your property.
Hand Tools
If the grid goes down when SHTF, hand tools will quickly become high-value barter items. Especially once everyone’s power tool batteries go completely flat.
When stocking up on extra tools that will have the highest trade value, you almost have to imagine a VEN diagram.
One circle is tools that aren’t common. No one is going to trade you for a sack of hammers and screwdrivers they already have. Another circle of criteria is tools that will need the most use when SHTF. The third circle of criteria is tools that the average Joe can use.
With this in mind, wood-cutting tools are a good, high-value example. People will need to maintain a constant fire for cooking, purifying water, and staying warm. Timber saws, quality hand saws, splitting mauls, and heavy-duty hatchets aren’t the sort of thing the average Joe stocks up on. Yet they are simple enough that just about anyone can use them with confidence.
Heirloom Seeds
If a SHTF disaster lasts for more than one growing season, heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable seeds could become worth their weight in gold. You see the average seeds you buy at the garden center for your home garden are typically “Hybrid” seeds.
They’re meant to be easy to grow, but any seeds you save from them will give you poor-to-no results the next year.
Heirloom and open-pollinated vegetable varieties will continue to provide you with viable seeds year after year. This means if you grow them every summer, you can save a massive number of seeds, to later barter to your neighbors who will be desperate to create their own self-sustaining garden.
The heirloom seeds with the highest value will fluctuate based on the season. To maximize their trade value, I recommend a mix of different types. Especially for root crops, and other vegetables that are easy to can, pickle, or ferment for long-term storage. This includes things like:
- Beets
- Kale
- Cabbage
- Cucumbers
- Onions
- Medicinal herbs
- Butternut squash
- Sugar pumpkins
- Zucchini & other summer squash
- Dent corn
- Sorghum
- Buckwheat
Medicinal Herbs, Seeds & Roots
In a prolonged disaster, there will come a point where everyone will run out of their prescription medications. If you’re already growing your own medicinal herbs like calendula, chamomile, elderberry, lavender, holy basil, echinacea, and lemon balm, there are multiple ways you can barter.
This starts with directly bartering the medicinal herbs themselves to neighbors and other groups who need them. You could even command a higher value from seedlings, seeds, cuttings and roots. You can even make some at home powerful remedies following these forgotten skills and make your own natural apothecary.
The bartering pitch with these would be that you’re trading them the ability to sustainably product the medicinal herbs for themselves. Something that could be worth more than gold to another group who has people with chronic medical conditions.
Chickens & Coop Supplies
Chickens are an absolute cornerstone of any successful sustainability strategy. It takes very little to feed them, they can help keep pests out of your garden. They provide you with eggs that you can eat or barter with others. When a laying hen comes to the end of its productive life around 2 to 3 years old, it makes an excellent stew.
So, it’s easy to persuade people into recognizing the value of chickens, poults, eggs, and the supplies to make their own coop. If you have a rooster, you can even trade a lot of mature chickens in one barter transaction. Then simply hatch out the fertilized eggs in your coop to replenish your flock.
Boots, Socks & Quality Footwear
In normal times, the average person’s shoes and socks are more cosmetic than functional. Flashy sneakers and thin cotton socks might be fine when the lights are on, but when the world goes sideways, a good pair of boots, and warm socks will be worth more than their weight in gold.
People with cold, wet feet are generally miserable. The people who struggle the most on wilderness retreats in normal times are the ones with poor, yet fancy-looking footwear, and they become quickly desperate to resolve the problem.
When stocking up on extra boots and warm socks to barter, size matters, and too big is better than too small. Start with an extra pair or two of boots that are your size, which you can always use as a backup. Then also stock some size 12 waterproof boots for barter. Add in thermal socks and you’ve got a bartering package that will be increasingly in high demand as the SHTF scenario draws out.
Fishing Gear & Tackle
There’s a cliché out there in the survivalist realm that when SHTF the people with the most hunting rifles will be able to feed themselves easily. Yet when you think about it, hundreds, if not thousands of ordinary people beating the bushes will force big game like deer and feral hogs to spook out to the far reaches of their habitat.
Even if you’re willing to hike or drive out that far, and you’re lucky enough to get something, you still have to get it back through a sea of hapless newbie hunters. All of them will be desperately hungry and armed with whatever they can find.
However, fish in lakes, streams, and rivers are limited to where they can go. They’re also a very good source of protein. Even rough fish such as carp, suckers, and bullheads have extraordinary food value. They can even be smoked or dehydrated for long-term storage. A good way to fish is using a contraption I like to call Robinson’s Crusoe fish trap and I learned how to make it from this guide.
Heavy-duty fiberglass fishing rods like Ugly Stick can take a beating, and still maintain their bartering value. Open-face reels also tend to be easier for novice anglers to use than bait caster reels. Having a few extra of these on hand to barter will give you a leg up when negotiating a high-value trade for something you need.
Trap Making Supplies
Just like how fishing gear will have more value than big game hunting gear, the ability to trap animals for protein will also become increasingly in demand. That person posting internet memes about the grace of squirrels and how we need to be nicer to possums will quickly start thinking about trapping and cooking them.
Related: 5 Traps to Catch Animals While You Sleep
Having extra conibear traps like 220 and 330 will let you catch things like raccoons, possums, and even a predatory coyote. Have hart traps that are meant to help you relocate small nuisance animals in normal times are a great way to trap squirrels without having to waste ammunition trying to shoot them out of trees.
Final Thoughts
While things like ammunition, MREs, camping supplies, and water purification devices will always have a golden barter value, they’re not the only things that will be in high demand when SHTF. Antibiotics with a long shelf life, feminine hygiene products, hand tools, and a good pair of boots will quickly gain major barter value.
In a prolonged disaster scenario, things that people can use for food sustainability will develop a value that’s better than gold. This includes things like heirloom seeds that allow people to grow their own vegetables, fishing gear, and small game traps that let people source their own protein from nature without having to learn how to be big game hunters.
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