# Things that will become very valuable if society were to collapse **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807 "2008-04-25T06:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/1 "2008-04-25T06:31:09Z")
If there was a collapse of society (no central government, no economy - basically, like the world depicted in _The Postman_) - what are some of the commodities that will become very, very valuable? In other words, things that are not necessary for survival, but would give someone an advantage, could be used for trade (and conversely, would make one a more vulnerable target for thieves or robbers.) List all which you can come up with. Alcohol Cigarettes Gasoline and diesel fuel Guns and ammunition Dirt bikes Horses (they would be very useful for getting around if there was no fuel, and they can go places that vehicles can’t.) Opiate drugs and anaesthetics Bandages and antibiotics Tires Canisters of freon What else? ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/2 "2008-04-25T06:47:41Z")
Propane Garden tools Hand tools Real estate Bows and arrows Fishing gear Work shoes and boots In essence, anything that would assist you in being self-sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/3 "2008-04-25T07:02:49Z")
Gotta go with = gun. With that you can get anything else you need , no? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/4 "2008-04-25T07:22:57Z")
We’ll need skills: Shoemaking. Soapmaking. Sewing. Clothmaking. Farming: raising animals, raising plants, knowing the local flora and fauna. Pottery. Tanning and leatherworking. Ropemaking. Blacksmithing, smelting and forging. Woodworking. And probably a lot more. That said, when the zombies attack, I’m ignoring the jewellery stores and big-screen TVs and taking over the local hardware store. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/5 "2008-04-25T07:29:14Z")
Well, those are skills, not commodities, really. But people possessing those skills could be enslaved, and then they would become commodities. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/6 "2008-04-25T12:19:06Z")
What of petroleum products? Don’t they have a sell by date? Are we assuming someone will take control of a pump and refinery (a la Mad Max 2) and the tooling necessary to maintain motor vehicles? In any case, I can see a horse being far more valuable, treat it right and it’ll last years longer than a car or bike. Edited to add, what of books on technology and science, useful for when/if society tries to rebuild. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/7 "2008-04-25T12:50:02Z")
Good health - Not needing medicines for a condition. Your family Survival guides Encyclopedias Wilderness. Good water supply Food sources Shelter Salt Good knives Medicines for basic illness Clothes Guns Traps Fishing gear Wood working supplies ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/8 "2008-04-25T13:22:23Z")
I live on a farm and have everything I need already. The key will be to keep it. I agree with the above posters, the only things I see missing are; animals capable of breeding (chickens, pigs, cows etc) seeds water purification system (simple as bleach or complex as a filter system) family and select friends ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/9 "2008-04-25T13:26:37Z")
Illegal drugs (instant fungible currency). Give me a big stash of heroin (and the guns/muscle to guard it). ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/10 "2008-04-25T13:42:01Z")
Tampons. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/11 "2008-04-25T14:23:19Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Canisters of freon [/QUOTE] I’m curious - what would this be for? ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/12 "2008-04-25T14:58:04Z")
Portable electric generators. Gold, silver, gemstones, jewelry. A passport issued by a stable country. (I’m assuming a total global collapse isn’t in the cards.) Manual typewriters. Non-electric tools. Older cars that you can work on yourself without needing expensive electronic diagnostic equipment. Bicycles. Paper. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/13 "2008-04-25T15:32:59Z")
A horse is fine, if you have the means to feed it… Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/14 "2008-04-25T15:35:26Z")
I don’t see why alcohol would be all that valuable. You can make and distill alcohol pretty much anywhere with limited technology. Coffee, on the other hand, would be hard to find if the global economy collapsed. Stockpile a few cans. Small precision metal items like razor blades, needles, and syringes would be valuable. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/15 "2008-04-25T15:43:31Z")
I’m with **StGermain.** ---
**Author:** ![schnuckiputzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@schnuckiputzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/schnuckiputzi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/16 "2008-04-25T15:45:08Z")
I second coffee – that is what I thought of first, but then I’ve been reading Stirling lately, so I’ve been immersed in that sort of society. Not that I would drink any of that nasty stuff, but I think it would be worth a lot of chickens or pork, since we won’t be able to get any more until someone paddles their canoe down to Jamaica or wherever. Medicines, definitely, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics, or painkillers. (You can have my Vicodin when you pry it, etc. etc.) flour, salt, sugar – it will take a while to replace these ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/17 "2008-04-25T16:10:05Z")
My brother has a collection of something like 10 guns and several thousand rounds of ammo. He claims that he always keeps a stockpile of **toilet paper** on hand because it will be as good as currency when the uprising comes. Thing is, I can’t be entirely sure he’s kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/18 "2008-04-25T17:29:46Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t fight the hypothetical] Gotta go with = gun. With that you can get anything else you need , no? [/QUOTE] Can you sleep with one eye open? The answer to this question depends on the nature of the collapse. Are we talking about a temporary failure of civil authority (during, say, a natural disaster or localized attack), a broader collapse of governance and ready distribution of industrial goods (civil war, economic collapse, et cetera), or a long-term atavism in society as a whole from some kind of massive die-off that drops population density below that needed to sustain an industrial and transportation infrastructure, _a la_ George Stewart’s _Earth Abides_? In the case of a short term failure, stockpiling basic goods and dry semi-perishables for your own use is the best bet. A 30 day stockpile of food and necessities (including basic first aid supplies and water filtration) will fit in a large closet. Animals (except for guard animals) will probably be more of a liability than an asset in general. Weapons, especially ranged weapons, may be very useful for defense against marauders and opportunists, but an arsenal of weapons will be of little use in a real siege; mobility and concealment in the face of aggression is generally the best policy, especially as even a non-complicated injury from combat may result in infection and death. In the second case, a broader collection of tools and means to manufacture basic machines for agricultural and construction projects in addition to more extended and preserved diet staples. Beasts of burden and food producing animals (especially for producing dairy and honey) are a definite asset if you can protect them from predators, human or otherwise. Trade goods, including tobacco, distilled alcohol, coffee, textiles, non-perishable pharmaceuticals, mechanical fasteners, ammunition, fuel, et cetera will be valuable, but so will skills and references for repairing and improvising salvaged machinery, and references therefore. Weapons are likely to be less important for survival than raw numbers; your best bet for security and survival is to ally with larger groups. In the third case, anything that requires lubrication, external power or fuel, or is sensitive to corrosion or rough handling will fail sooner or later, usually right when you need it the most. You would want to translate to pre-Industrial means of self-sufficiency rather than stockpiling food staples and supplies for the long haul, including means and methods to preserve food, construct habitats from natural supplies and simple methods, adopt a hunter/gatherer/gardener approach to food procurement, et cetera. Literacy and the knowledge of complex machinery will be less important than interpersonal/political, and knowledge of edible/medicinal plants, primitive survival skills, et cetera. Work animals will be necessary for large scale trade or broad agriculture, but carry their own costs of injury, infection, defending against predators, et cetera. I can’t see any situation in which an encyclopedia, with its highly generalized knowledge, would be particularly valuable. However, basic construction engineering, primitive medicine, and botanical references might be very useful. Books and illustrations of all kinds would be valuable as the only means of storied entertainment. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/19 "2008-04-25T17:43:45Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] I can’t see any situation in which an encyclopedia, with its highly generalized knowledge, would be particularly valuable. However, basic construction engineering, primitive medicine, and botanical references might be very useful. Books and illustrations of all kinds would be valuable as the only means of storied entertainment. Stranger [/QUOTE] A good enough encyclopedia should have sufficient rudimentary information on practical subjects as to be definitely better than nothing. Besides basic engineering and medicine, it usually has information on potential crops and could help you pick the best things to grow in your area. I think acoustic musical instruments would also be valuable, and anyone who could sing and/or play passably well would be in demand for entertainment purposes after the end of the mass entertainment industry. By extension, related sheet music would also have considerable value. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807/20 "2008-04-25T17:50:57Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] A horse is fine, if you have the means to feed it… Just a thought. [/QUOTE] Feed it slaves. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-will-become-very-valuable-if-society-were-to-collapse/446807.md?page=2)