Despite the frequently argued economic necessity of war and warfare, global conflict, particularly of the patchy, neo-Conservative type in abundance today, seems, inevitably to lead some razor-minded economists to place hyper-inflation and devalued currency firmly on the horizon of the Western world. We know this because we hear about it every day. Look to the past to see the future, they say, and mutter dark words about the Weimar Republic and wheelbarrows of worthless paper money necessary to pay for a loaf of bread (better not leave the wheelbarrow unattended!). Yes, the days when it was far more economically efficacious to burn your savings in the fireplace to keep warm than it was to buy logs and coal.

If we are forced to give serious consideration to what such a life might be like, these potted histories give us some succour - certainly, our life's savings are irretrievably gone, but at least we get to watch the inky, treacherous face
of our ruling monarch or former resident burn in a furnace. The problem, some say, is that paper money is purely symbolic, a promissory note of sorts, easily rescinded in difficult circumstances, unlike hard coinage which retains a practical value. Today, for instance, we're told that the global copper shortage has increased the value of some coin
denominations beyond their stipulated face value - in Britain, some two pence coins are now worth three pence on the metal market. In theory, though not practice, you could liquidate all of your wealth, buy up every pre-1980 two pence piece, smelt the lot, and sell it to a needy manufacturer for a 50% profit! Unfortunately, the law would stand in your way - its representatives would take great umbrage, try you at an unfeasibly large cost to the public purse and cast you into a small cell with a horde of sexually deprived maniacs, where all manner of apocryphal prison tales might very well come true.

There are, however, legitimate alternatives. Like Midas, you could choose to hoard precious metals, an approach recommended by many investment experts, who claim 10 - 20% of the wealth of anyone who matters should be taken up with the shiny, dense and aesthetically pleasing elements of gold, silver, platinum and palladium. Imagine, if you will, a cellar full of the stuff; yes, real, tangible, non-negotiable wealth. Why not fly like an american silver eagle. It is, perhaps, somewhat atavistic in nature, with its undertones of colonial pilfery and high-capitalist imperialism, but it is, nonetheless, indubitably attractive; the Old ways, you see, never go away, but continue to endure because they're probably the most correct. One firm, Monex, offers just such an investment
opportunity. Since 1967, they've traded billions of dollars' worth of precious metals to hundreds of thousands of clients, so if you really want to Buy Silver Bars, Monex is one of the largest and most experienced firms available.