"Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable."-- George S. Patton
I am thinking that when, not if, SHTF occurs, the banks will close. Two weeks after the banks are closed and people realize they are not going to reopen, gold & silver coins will be a good item to have hold of. They will become the currency of choice (in my opinion). Food and water will soon become very tradeable also.