This article from a non-standard news source is a great example of the ways that bartering is making its way, slowly, back in to the mainstream of business. I wouldn’t be surprised if college courses in barter appear over the next couple of years. This one is even more fun than many of the other articles we’ve found…its about trading bullets for stuff. Apparently there is a current shortage in ammo availability right now, which means that people in the guns and ammo industry are using it as money. The author does make some good points about currency, and especially his measuring stick for the value of a currency. Check it out below:
Ammo vs. MoneyWe barter when money is not available, money is worthless or when goods are not available regardless of money. Ammo is currently being used in barter because it’s not available regardless of money. However, it’s not hard to foresee a time when all three conditions would exist.
Gold and silver are the best money on earth for reasons listed in, “Why is Gold Money?” They have all the key attributes of money and they have them in spades: They score excellent within each category. For instance, gold and silver are not only transportable, they are very transportable. They are not only storable, they are very storable. . .and on down the line with each attribute. Going one by one comparing the attributes of money with ammunition, ammo is:
Transportable: Yes, if kept away from water and shipped within legal restrictions.
Divisible: Only within the same cartridge. Safety would dictate that divisibility be further limited to manufactured lots. Mixing different size cartridges is possible, but seldom done.
Storable: Yes, for about 50 years though with much less tolerances than gold or silver. Ammo can be destroyed or unpredictable if wet. Performance can also vary with ambient humidity. Storability is on a par with wheat.
Fungible: No. It has divisibility by cartridge but no fungibility.
Resilient: Yes, though with much less tolerances than gold or silver. Ammo in water can not be trusted: Brass rusts while primers decay unpredictably. Ammo is about as resilient as a large can of beans: Once it’s dented, less people trust it.
Measurable: Yes, within the same cartridge where components are consistent.
High Unit Value: Yes, with values just above copper and lead though far below silver and gold.
Desirable: Yes, but not universally. Desirability is limited to those in charge of security, hunting or those aware of a gun’s wide range of utility. If the need for security grows the desire for each family to have some amount of ammunition will increase.
Rare: More and more each day.
Hard to Counterfeit: No. But non-functional copies that pass muster are almost as expensive to make as a functional round.
So, ammunition is transportable, storable, resilient, measurable, has a High Unit Value, and is increasingly Desirable and Rare. However, Divisibility is limited to cartridge and there is no Fungibility. Counterfeiting is possible, but, non-functional copies that pass muster are expensive to make.
Ammunition has 7 out of the 10 attributes of money. However, it does not perform nearly as well in those 7 attributes as does gold and silver. If we hold ammunition to the same standards as gold and silver then it would be used as money only on a supplemental or transitional basis.
The most acceptable forms of tradable ammo would be cartridges in wide demand, manufactured with consistent and trusted components and transported and stored in a manner to keep it from coming into contact with water. The end result being a half-dollar (Or .45 ACP round, in this case) that you could use to buy a pack of gum with in the morning or shoot a rattlesnake with in the afternoon!
