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In God we trusted; under Bush Two we busted.

With that in mind, I went shopping for silver today, and at a small shop in a strip mall bought a few old coins --

1921 silver dollars. There were two kinds minted that year: the Morgan, named for its designer, and the Peace Dollar (pictured), to commemorate the armistice that ended the Great War. I find the Peace Dollar more aesthetically pleasing, but since both are 90 percent silver they have identical value.

These things are intoxicating, and I can see why hoarders in earlier epochs became misers and loved running their fingers through piles of precious metals. Unlike paper money, checks, or an unromantic debit card, they're hard and shiny, kind of like Madonna's face, which they also resemble because they've seen better days but are still very appealing. They're also like magical talismans -- archaeological artifacts from a gone world and long-departed nation.

I don't know if there's going to be a currency meltdown of some kind, or a hyperinflation which would have the same effect. Those things are possible but not certain, and I don't know what the probabilities are. However, I would like to be prepared for such a long- or short-term emergency.

At the time these things were minted their one-dollar face value was way greater than the value of the three-quarters ounce of silver they contained. That's certainly not true any longer with silver trading at $35/oz. I'm not confident enough to say this is a word to the wise, but it's a suggestion.

E Pluribus Unum; don't neglect the states; you'll rune 'em.

--Troilius Crassassius
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