Why not? Gold and silver matter today in Port-Au-Prince. Even in that Mad-Max hellhole, street vendors are still selling food and water to those who can afford it. Same goes for a ride out of town to a slightly less hellish part of the country- nobody rides free.
I've said this many times, but if you're thinking not just economic collapse but complete and utter Haiti/Mad-Max/The Postman/WaterWorld/The Day After/Jericho type devastation, you'd get WAY more bang for your hoarded buck by accumulating a large stash of antibiotics. www.inhousepharmacy.com (and I vouch for this site- no scamming going on there) has 200 tablet Erythromycin bottles for $56. I've already got mine (and many other types). How about you?
Which do you think will fetch a better price in Bartertown, four ounces of silver or 12 full courses of antibiotics? Both cost the same exact price... <i>now</i>.
The thing is, having weapons/ammo/gold/silver/antibiotics/food stashed can only get you through the immediate aftermath. To survive longer term, joining a community/gang/posse of armed men will be a perquisite to survival (anyone else watch Jericho, btw?). Because the criminals & looters will eventually get organized too, and they'll be free to take anything you have unless you can match (or at least challenge) their firepower.
