/// EDC Methods: Micro Gold Bars in Your Wallet
EDC Methods is a series of posts about everyday carry gear concepts, tips and hacks. View all related posts or check out the gear shop.
EDC (Everyday Carry) is the philosophy of equipping highly personalized sets of gear to effectively manage lifestyle, professional and demanding situations daily.
I’ve been carrying PAMP (BUY HERE) minted bars of pure gold and platinum on my person and as part of my varying packing lists for the last few years.
I don’t care for jewelry (unless it serves a function), so it’s not for flash or status. They’re for last resort backup currency or better yet, bartering power.
No matter what you’ve heard, money is money. Precious metals are not better than actual money. That is of course if we’re talking about kilos. But no, this is for EDC so it’s in terms of grams. Tiny bits of mass that has an intensely favorable financial worth / physical size ratio.
So I’m not saying you should fill your wallet, travel packs and survival kits with bars of gold in favor of good old cash. But under the right circumstances and for specific individuals, a few small bars of 1 and 5 gram pieces could one day be a life saver.
The reason I started doing this is because I have an excess of them just laying around from a consulting op. I could simply sell them when gold and platinum are at a high and make a few bucks. But I thought it would be more interesting to use them as SHTF currency.
Then I wanted to take it a step further and started carrying them in my wallet and beyond.
It’s ideal to have at least 1 backup credit / debit card and various amounts of cash stashed, for life and travel. Bullion serves as a 3rd source of tangible currency.
So like I said earlier, it’s not for everyone. If you happen to have a lot of these precious metal bars for whatever reason or you have money to burn, then add it to your EDC. Otherwise, it’s just not cost effective.
Throughout my travels, I’ve tested this method to pay for an all day tuk-tuk taxi service in Siem Reap, a modest bar tab in Seoul and a week stay at a Prague hostel.
But just once out of necessity to “bribe” a cop to drive me to safety out of the Amazon Jungle.
EDC Methods: Micro Gold Bars in Your Wallet
This is actually quite brilliant for EDC, but like you said, if your rich. But if someone gave me some of these bars, HELLS YES.
There so cute and tiny, I don’t think I would be able to part with them even if I needed to.
How did you setup that kit in the photo, like the black strip?
This is very clever, now if only I had the money. On another note, I wonder if gold coins with an actual value stamped on them would work.
Precious metal values always change, JM Bullion sells 1gram Gold bullion bars with security features for about $50 (even though they are currently worth about $35 – it is more cost effective to buy 5gram for $200). Platinum is worth less than Gold even though it cost the same amount as buying a Gold bullion bar. Hope this helps.
The black strap looks like black duct tape. BTW this is a great idea!