➡ In ancient times, gold and silver were recognized as valuable means of exchange. In ancient Egypt, an ounce of gold could buy a mud brick house, one to six cows, enough grain to feed a family for a year, or one to four acres of land. In the Roman Empire, the same amount of gold could buy a small house, one to three cows, enough grain to feed 50 to 60 people for a year, or one to three acres of land. In the late medieval period, an ounce of gold could buy a timber frame house, one to three cows, enough grains to sustain a family for three years, or six acres of undeveloped woodland.
➡ In the mid-1800s, gold and silver could buy you various goods and services, from a steamship ticket to Europe to a few days’ rent at a boarding house. Today, despite changes in currency and inflation, an ounce of gold still holds significant purchasing power, from a deposit on an apartment to a custom-tailored suit. However, the value of an ounce of silver has decreased, now only covering basic necessities like utilities or groceries. Regardless of the era, precious metals like gold and silver remain a reliable method of transaction.

If I was to take this handful of $100 bills back to ancient Egypt, what would it get me? Well, it would probably get me tortured, enslaved, or likely beheaded by the Pharaoh. But what if I went back with a silver and a gold coin? Well, I would probably be able to transact with the commoners. Unfortunately, they’d probably think I stole it, and I would be tortured and beheaded anyways. The point is, if you were to go back at any time throughout human history, no matter where you were on the planet, chances are silver and gold would be recognized as viable means of exchange.

So I thought it would be fun to go back through the ages and see exactly what one ounce of silver and one ounce of gold could purchase at these various points throughout human history. Let’s get to it. Let’s go back to the beginning of human civilization, somewhere around 3000 BC in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egypt, while copper and silver were preferred for trade, their exchange rates to gold were more or less standardized. With one ounce to gold, I could buy the following, a very nice privately owned mud brick structure. You could probably imagine why the Pharaoh would have thought I stole that one ounce gold coin.

Now, estimates vary widely, but one ounce of gold could get you roughly one to six cows or enough grain to feed a family for a little over a year. While private land ownership was extremely rare in ancient Egypt, one ounce of gold could get you the rights to one to four acres of prime real estate along the Nile River for an extended period of time. That one coin could get you around half a dozen high-quality bronze swords or shields, enough to outfit a small group of soldiers. Or you could use it to purchase several high-class luxury outfits.

But how am I going to get around the desert? Well, that one ounce of gold could get me a simple cart for hauling items and one to four donkeys to pull it. Or a small but well-built fishing boat for traveling along the Nile River. I’m just thinking about how stupid I look right now. It helps sometimes. Now, although it was less common than copper, silver was also a popular form of currency in this era. Silver was a lot more rare in ancient Egypt. For that reason, the gold to silver ratio was a lot lower then than it is now.

For example, right now the gold to silver ratio is around 50 to 1. At that time, it was more like 1 to 1. Now that doesn’t mean that silver was more valuable than gold. It just means it was more abundant. And for that reason, it could get you roughly one to three heads of cattle or enough staple grains to feed a family for roughly six months. It would get you about one to three acres of land leased for a season, but maybe not right along the Nile River. It would net you one high-quality bronze sword and shield.

It could get you one high-quality linen tunic, something that the nobility might wear. It might get me one donkey to help assist in traveling across the desert plains. In short, the modern-day metal stackers of the world would have lived like kings in ancient Egypt. But wouldn’t the same be true if I just went back with a machine gun? Now, let’s jump ahead to the ancient Roman Empire. Your eyes don’t deceive you. This is not a new Netflix special. We’re in fact in ancient Rome, the age of emperors, gladiators, and chariot racing. The Romans also had a very well-organized currency system in which they used gold, copper, and silver.

In the Roman Empire, the gold to silver ratio started to widen. So in ancient Rome, one ounce of gold would get you a small provincial house just outside of Rome. As for cows, it would get you slightly less than it could in ancient Egypt, maybe one to three heads of cattle. It could get you enough grain to feed 50 to 60 people for a year. Or you could get one to three acres of provincial farmland. In terms of weapons, it could basically get you the same that it got in ancient Egypt. You could outfit around six soldiers with swords and shields.

But if war wasn’t your thing, you could go and get a dozen or so dyed wool togas or tunics. It could get you one to two donkeys. Or if you wanted to get out of Dodge, it could get you around four boat ship passages for you and your family across the Mediterranean. What about silver? It was a lot more common in those days. One ounce of silver could pay your rent for a month in the city. Or get you enough wood that you could put together a small little shack to live in.

It could provide you with enough grain to feed a single family for one to two months. Or if you prefer one goat. Maybe you don’t want shelter and you just want land. Well, unfortunately, with an ounce of silver in Roman times, you’re only getting yourself a small garden plot for an ounce of silver. For only one ounce of silver, you could get one professional grade short sword or one standard wool tunic. These would be the type of tunics that would be worn by common citizens and servants. Unlike the Egyptian era, one ounce of silver will probably only allow you to rent a pack animal for your travels.

Or you can pay someone for a few days travel via cart. Take this parchment you heathen. I have no use for this worthless scrap. Why the hell am I doing this? The next stop on our golden voyage takes us to the late medieval period somewhere in England. A time not too long after the Black Plague ripped across Europe, killing 30 to 60% of the population. This period saw a decline of the feudal system and people starting to slowly migrate into what were now called cities. If you were fortunate enough to have one ounce of gold, this is what it might have bought you.

In the late medieval period, an ounce of gold, if you’re lucky, could get you a modest timber frame house. Interestingly, it would get you the same amount of cattle, roughly one to three head in the medieval era, or enough grains and dry goods to sustain a family for roughly three years. One ounce of gold would get you six acres of undeveloped woodland. Now at this time in England, that was a lot of land. It could get you one high quality complete suit of plate armor for a man at arms. One ounce of gold would get you a full tailored custom dyed wool garment with expensive lining and trim, something suitable for a noble but a lesser noble.

In terms of transportation, it would get you one quality riding horse or a heavy duty pack animal. Silver was a lot more common. For one ounce of silver, you could get a few months rent for a small house in town. You could probably get drunk several times over for one ounce of silver. For example, you could get two barrels of good quality English ale or a large delicious side of savory smoked salt cured bacon. If you were a land-owning farmer, it would cover your taxes for a year and help you avoid being beheaded by the king.

It could get you a high quality longbow and a healthy supply of arrows. Not bad. You could get a full set of wool clothes or a nice pair of leather boots. Just get the boots. Walk around naked with the boots. It’s a medieval era, who cares? Because mules were so abundant in this time apparently, that one silver coin could get yourself a pretty decent pack mule. And now we’re going to fast forward a few hundred years to the wild wild west. Is it over yet? This is becoming a how stupid can I make myself look contest.

Now we’re in the wild west. The California gold rush in the mid 19th century marked a major increase in the gold supply. The price throughout this period of time was fixed to 20 US dollars an ounce. For the first time, we start measuring gold in dollars. Generally speaking, in North America, outside of the western parts of the United States, this is what one ounce of gold could have got you. You could either get one month’s worth of rent in an upscale Manhattan apartment or you could get a simple rat infested hovel for about a year.

You’ll get four to five hundred pounds of grain, enough to sustain a small family for a few months. You could purchase five to ten acres of undeveloped farmland or pay the annual property taxes on a medium-sized farm. You could buy yourself the latest and greatest newly released Colt revolver or a good sporting rifle. You could buy yourself a full custom tailored suit of the highest quality wool, including a good hat and boots, which was the attire of a professional gentleman. Somebody not dressed the way I am today. It could get you one good horse and a saddle to match.

Or if you didn’t like North America and you wanted to go back to Europe, that would buy you a ticket on a steamship from New York to a European port. Now, what about silver? What would silver get you in the mid 1800s? It’s probably only going to get you a few days rent for a basic room in a boarding house. That includes your lodging and your meals. One ounce of silver could get you around 50 pounds of flour. Pretty much what it would get you today or 10 to 15 pounds of meat.

Certainly can’t get that today. You could purchase a half to maybe one full acre of marginal land or enough to cover the taxes on a small farm for a year. It would get you a box of ammunition or a good knife for daily use. It will get you a single pair but a good pair of sturdy leather boots or a well-made wool coat. It would cover the cost of one stagecoach ticket for a short regional trip. Now I think it’s hot time that we fast forward to modern times. A time when inflated currencies and digital tokens have obscured our understanding of what money really means.

We’re now more than 50 years removed from the gold standard and today one ounce of gold is worth approximately $4,100 at the time of making this video. Here’s what that money will buy you today. It’ll get you the deposit and one to two ounce rent in a moderately sized apartment in a high-cost city. Back in the 1800s that ounce of gold would have got us a cow. Well guess what? It still will get you a cow. Because of the advancements in modern agriculture that one gold coin will now get you thousands of pounds of premium packed grain for emergency storage.

Depending on where you go it’s probably enough to buy you at least one acre of undeveloped land. That one ounce gold coin could get you a high-end custom-built semi-automatic rifle like an AR-15 with a decent optic. Or if you’re the fancy type you can get yourself a full custom tailored suit made with high-end fabrics. Or if you’re not very smart with your money it could be a good down payment and a few months lease on a mid-range economy car. Who’s gonna lease an economy car? What about one ounce of silver? What could that get you? For one ounce of silver it would get you maybe a week’s worth of your utilities payments depending on where you live and how much you consumed.

For 70 bucks you can get yourself a week’s worth of basic grocery staples. Wait a minute who wrote this? More like a McDonald’s happy meal. 70 bucks probably gets you a few days worth of food. Or if you really wanted to stretch it and you were just relying on like bulk grains and rice then yeah you could survive it a lot longer. Unlike the 1800s or the medieval era it could get you some cool technology like a tactical flashlight, a multi-tool or even a box of ammunition. It could get you a high-quality premium pair of leather work gloves or if you’re into the fancy stuff a name brand t-shirt.

It could also get you a full tank of gas in a mid-sized car unless you’re in California. Interestingly in our research for making this video we discovered that the most consistent metric for gold throughout all of history is in fact the oldest profession. For just one ounce of gold you can purchase the same amount of ladies of negotiable affection as you could when the pyramids were under construction. Yay! While all of these periods have different sets of defining characteristics the trend is clear. Gold, silver, copper and other precious metals are viable methods of transacting no matter what era you’re in.

The same can’t be said for this stuff which in the year 3000 will most surely be toilet paper unless they figure out the three seashells by then. He doesn’t know how to use the three seashells. Now let me ask you if you only had one ounce of gold that’s more or less four thousand dollars today what would you spend that on in terms of emergency preparedness supplies let me know in the comment section below thanks for watching don’t forget to like comment subscribe Canadian Prepper out if you only had one ounce of gold what era would you go back to buy hookers in that’s a derogatory term now i guess hookers let me know in the comment section below if you had one ounce of gold how much would you spend on supplies and how much would you spend on prostitutes thanks for watching don’t forget the channel is to support yourself by gearing up at canadianpreparedness.com where you’ll find high quality survival gear at the best prices no junk and no gimmicks use discount code prepping gear for 10 off don’t forget the strong survive but the prepared thrive stay safe
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