Trading

There are a few items that I keep for my regular stockpile that I horde lots extra because of the fact that someday they could be worth their weight in gold. And I don't mean that literally. I have friends that horde silver or gold coins for this same reason, but I haven't seen much logic in that. We may all need a few basic items to survive a coming crisis, and from my standpoint, I would not take 10 pounds of gold for any one of those items if supply was running short. Food, water and self protection will be the at the top of every ones list, or a way to create or preserve those items. Ammo is by far a great choice. Again, .22 rim fire ammo is cheap, easily stored and could make great trading stock, and if the need never arises, you can still use it for your own use. Another item I feel is often overlooked, at least in my part of the country is salt. Not only is salt needed to stay healthy, but is a must for preserving any meats without refrigeration. In the Northwest mountains, I would have a terrible time coming up with a natural source of it. Canning jars and lids are another excellent example of a stockpile item that you can use yourself if needed, or the spares can be traded off. Jars are bulky to store, but will keep forever. Lids-not so much, as I've seen lots of rusty looking lids come out of new looking boxes. Cool and dry as with most anything you store.
Coffee, alcohol and tobacco may also make great trading items, but storage on the latter two may be difficult. Keeping the items around for a home-made still may not be a bad idea. Alcohol can be used as fuel in some instances, has medicinal qualities, and makes a great trading item in a pinch. Nearly anything can be distilled into alcohol, but not everything is suitable for drinking. Read all you can on this subject before undertaking this. Its also my understanding that distilling alcohol without a license is illegal at the present time, but owning the parts to build a still is not. A small inexpensive still can be built from a stainless steel pressure cooker, a little copper tubing, and silver solder. I have a 1 gallon sized one (1 gallon or smaller for water only is legal) that I use for distilling water and it works great.

An important note on trading...Consider each trade carefully. There was a nationwide Ammo shortage not long ago. Primers and any military style ammo (9mm, .45 auto, 5.56 mm etc.) disappeared first. Many people (myself included) were trading less common ammo (.380, .357 etc) for the other needed items. This left me short on the uncommon ammo because it was available at the time. Once the military style ammo started coming back, I was still short on this other ammo, and am still short today trying to make up for a deficit in my stockpile. Again, what I'm trying to say is, what might be common and easily obtainable today, may not be so tommorow. Whenever trading, look at the long term, and make sure you keep enough for yourself before getting rid of anything you cant do without down the road.