Thank you for the advice about silver. I know that silver is better for small purchases and bartering. I imagine in a SHTF scenario it would be better to have silver because you could make small purchases. That is a point Bill Burr made in one of his videos that in such a scenario you would want silver more than gold because if all you had is an ounce of gold worth thirteen hundred dollars today how would you buy a loaf of bread?

If things break down to this degree, such that you are bartering for goods with precious metals, then you are facing so many other problems that how to pay for bread and get the right change is going to be one of the least of your concerns.

If things are stable enough for bread to be baked and sold there will also be banking and financial services where you can exchange metals, just as one can exchange currencies today.  Very soon a government will form and declare money into existance.

This is very true, however, in such a scenario, even if banks and other businesses are operating, that does not mean that financial trust has returned to the current money.  In fact, history shows that when a country's economy fails, there are often 2-3 additional failures of new currency before normalcy returns.  It can take years before full trust in the economic system is restored.  In the meantime, as people turn to precious metals for protection from the up-and-down swings in extreme inflation, a black market or off-the-record bartering system often thrives.  If you own a bakery and someone comes in and offers you a silver coin worth $75 or the same amount in paper $, are you telling me you're not going to give the person with the coin a better deal?

Yes, you would be able to trade in your silver for normal money during a crisis but you could also get more value for that metal in the black market, because the financial institutions are going to undervalue the metals because it is in their interest to promote the govt currency, since banks are often taken over by the govt (or at least, heavily influenced and rewarded for promoting the status quo) so that the citizens do not develop their own money system which is outside the control of the state.

If you need to barter, you'll be able to barter with more than just metals, but these are a good part to have in your possession.

The hierarchy of needs on a case of societal collapse from hyperinflation would be this:

1) Shelter (either strategic relocation or, if not possible, “bugging in.”);

2) Water;

3) Food;

4) Defense;

5) Information;

6) Barter.

It is only at #6 that metals, important as they are, come into play.

Those who mistakenly believe metals are #1 because they will be able to trade for all the rest will be in for a rude awakening.

The value of metals will only have its place shortly before total collapse (ie., when SOME people will still be willing to part with 1-5), and upon rebuilding.

Ps: Don’t buy any food storage plans online (eg., “1 year for 4 people,” etc.).  They ALL are a total rip-off!
The Mormon sect has as a requirement of its false religion that all dupes must have 1 year of food storage.  Consequently, they have food warehouses in every mid-size or large city in the country, and they are open to non-Mormons.
The have shopped there many times.
Check out this link to see selections and pricing:
https://providentliving.lds.org/self-reliance/home-storage-centers?lang=eng

Those who mistakenly believe metals are #1 because they will be able to trade for all the rest will be in for a rude awakening.

Excellent advice.  Metals have their place in preparing, but common sense says that food, water, clothing, security, etc are of a higher priority.

Even barring total collapse, hyperinflation where money is downright worthless can still occur.

Also if SHTF to a degree where the government collapsed, in all likelihood by the time society was back together again, there'd be a new currency and the paper money stored under your mattress would be worthless. Gold however is never worthless and could easily be exchanged for the new currency. 

First priority is food, water, equipment (shovels), medical supplies, maintenance supplies, land, seeds, guns/ammo, etc.

If you happen to have enough wealth that you have money in the bank/mattress left over, then YES you want to buy physical gold and silver to preserve your wealth.

If you have more than 3 months worth of expenses stored in the bank, you should be prepared to lose a lot of money (which you woke up every day and worked 8 hours to earn). Ditto for cash. Most of your money -- your nest egg/stored value/wealth should be placed in something that can't just disappear because of a crash. That means the things listed in sentence #1, and precious metals.

But yes, it's foolish to put all your wealth into precious metals, lacking all the basics. You have to start with basic preps that are immediately useful.

If you have more than 3 months worth of expenses stored in the bank, you should be prepared to lose a lot of money (which you woke up every day and worked 8 hours to earn). Ditto for cash.

To add to this, certainly I’d have 3 months of expenses saved up but I wouldn’t have much in the bank at all.  I’d have most of your cash in hand, at home.  In the short term, when a crash starts, there could be bank runs or shortages of cash at ATMs, accounts could be frozen, etc. (this could also happen if a global cyber attack happens and the internet goes down, which would shut-down the credit card/bank industry).  Stores
would only be able to accept cash for necessities like food, gas, etc.  

In the long run, as the economy crashes, yes, cash will lose value, but it will still be necessary to have it for some time.  And you want to have access to it.  As they say in law “possession is nine-tenths of the law.”  If you don’t have it in hand, it’s not yours. 

P.s.  It should go without saying that you also want to have any metals in hand too (or buried).  Don’t buy any metal stocks or crap like that (unless it’s for a 401k that you can’t cash out yet).  Get OUT of the stock, bond, money markets.  “Be your own bank” as it’s been said.  

I have never bought any kind of precious metals, so please excuse my ignorance. I went to some of the sites recommended here to browse a bit, and see that coins that seem to be of the same exact weight and purity can have vastly different prices depending on condition and year. Does that kind of thing matter if you are only wanting to have some gold for emergency and aren't a collector per se? (For example, if I wish to use the gold or silver to trade for a necessity in some dystopian future,  will those things matter any more?) This is probably a dumb question, so I apologize in advance.