# Cash in a Jar? Backyard Bank



## kudzuvine

In my line of work of training for preparedness, cash is a huge issue. In natural/man-made disaster and our banking system fails, due to many reasons even power, how are you going to get your money? So, maybe going back to the "good old days" of burying cash in a jar in backyard isn't such a bad idea. If the banks shut down due to economic reasons or a natural disaster, spendable cash is #1. Like to hear thoughts on this - what is your plan?


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## StatHaldol

We were just talking about this at work last night! 

One of the guys at work said his grandfather buried cash in a jar in his corn field. The only problem was, he forgot where he buried it. 

He continued to search on and off for years and finally found it. His other mistakes were; he buried paper bills and his jar wasn't water tight. Many were damaged beyond redemption.


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## WolfWalksSoftly

Would be a good idea to also bury towards the top, some old rusty metal to throw off any Metal Detectors.


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## kudzuvine

You would surely need to let someone else know where it is buried. Maybe if the bills were put in a plastic bag, then a jar. You could even put some type of plastic jug over the top. Think this is something we really need to think about. It's hard to put back any money now days, but at least $100 would be better than nothing. Can you imagine how much money is buried around old home places all over the country that has been forgotten about? This is something I'm going to try and do and let a couple of "trusted" family members know where I've put it.


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## newfieannie

this is what i did. forgot about it for years . by that time trees had grown up around. my husband was the only other person who knew. and when we remembered it he said if we ever needed it he could find it. he passed just after . these were coins from my father and grandfather. ~Georgia.


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## StatHaldol

kudzuvine said:


> You would surely need to let someone else know where it is buried. Maybe if the bills were put in a plastic bag, then a jar. You could even put some type of plastic jug over the top. Think this is something we really need to think about. It's hard to put back any money now days, but at least $100 would be better than nothing. Can you imagine how much money is buried around old home places all over the country that has been forgotten about? This is something I'm going to try and do and let a couple of *"trusted" family members* know where I've put it.


 "trusted" family members"...that's an oxymoron in my family!!ound:


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## CountryWmn

I don't think any of my family members buried money back in the day, though they did stuff some in their mattress.


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## Wanderer

Over the years I've purchased the dollar coins -- have quite a nice stash by now. The latest are the "gold" Presidential coins, not worth anything other than face value, but I figured safer to store than paper money. I certainly agree with the poster who said to let at least one other person know where your stash is buried. In the mid 1980's my husband and I moved to a small acrerage with a falling down barn. We tore down the barn and in a corner came across someone's cash stash -- a mixture of 5, 10, and 20 dollar bills in a mason jar. None of the bills were later than 1956 and they were pretty moldy. There was probably $500.00 in the jar, a fairly significant amount for that day. We were able to salvage a bit over $300.00.


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## Catshooter

One way to waterproof a stash is to fully encase it in wax. Say you stuff a Mason jar full of money, then find a cardboard box that is a bit bigger than the jar and pour it full of wax with the jar in place. Water doesn't bother wax at all. Very low tech and cheap.


Cat


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## StatHaldol

A length of PVC with two caps glued on might be an alternative.


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## Mutti

My friend puts hers in the "bank of Juanita"....down her shirt which covers a generous storage area...........and she's a gal you don't wanna mess with!


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## kudzuvine

I think back 75-100 yrs - there really wasn't much money to stash. Of course, most had to hide due to lack of banks in rural areas. I just think it's a good idea for all of us to have some hidden outside of your home (house fires). I'm going to do some thinking on this. It may not be but $50, but if I can't get my money - $50 is better than nothing. 

As to mold/moisture, the sicilcon (?) packs that come in shoes and other items could be saved and used. I believe they're used to absorb moisture - I think. The pvc pipe is a good idea though. It could even stick out of ground a little so you'll remember. Unless you sell your place, no one would bother to see what it is. To me, it would just look like a pipe tapped off.


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## Danaus29

If I had cash to bury I wouldn't bury paper money. Too easy for it to get contaminated (water, soil, cloth eating bacteria) and lost. At least with dollar coins you don't have the deterioration factor and if you forget where you buried it, you can find it with a metal detector. 

One tip though, bury your coins deep. Then fill in with a few inches of dirt then put some sort of metal (old rusted screws or nails would be best) over that, then at least 4 more inches of dirt. Not many treasure hunters are persistent enough to dig through a bunch of nails and screws.


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## texican

There's gold buried in jars, within 2 miles of my place.... was buried, and lost when the guy burying it died... his son searched his whole life for it... with a geiger counter. :smack

I figure if things get really crazy, I'll trade something of more value than cash... such as food, fuel, or skills.

If it gets real crazy, no paper currency would get me to part with anything I have, and it's doubtful (at least for a few years, after some semblance of normalcy was returning) that silver or gold would convince me to 'trade'.


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## jamala

I have a friend who started sitting with her husbands grandmother. His grandmother had suffered a bad fall and needed someone to stay with her at night. The grandmother kept telling my friend, "I need my bandaids" over and over and she had no cuts on her to need a bandaid. Finally my friend went to the medicine cabinet and got out the OLD metal bandaid box and took it to the grandmother. Grandmother asked for the other bandaid boxes also, she had about 10 of them. My friend gathered them up and when grandma opened them she had lots of cash. Rolls of 20's and 10's and a few boxes of 100's. She told grandma's son and they went through the house and found thousands in bandaid boxes and metal cookie tins and hidden in pillow cases. No telling where all grandma has money hidden and since she is not in her right mind they may never find it all.


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## kudzuvine

I think Grandma had the right idea. It's too bad we all depend on banks so much. The least the gov. knows what we have the better off we'll be.


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## Ohio dreamer

Yet another use for a foodsaver. Vacuum, seal then toss in your container. Your paper notes will have a better chance of survival.


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## beachcomber

the problem with rat holing away cash is when you go to use it inflation has eaten it up.


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## Cabin Fever

kudzuvine said:


> In my line of work of training for preparedness, cash is a huge issue. In natural/man-made disaster and our banking system fails, due to many reasons even power, how are you going to get your money? So, maybe going back to the "good old days" of burying cash in a jar in backyard isn't such a bad idea. If the banks shut down due to economic reasons or a natural disaster, spendable cash is #1. Like to hear thoughts on this - what is your plan?


If the banking system fails, the US currency you've buried will probably be worthless, too. If you're going to bury something to be used when financial institutions fail, my recommendation would be to bury junk silver coins.


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## Becka03

use money to buy rice, beans, toliet paper, yeast, flour,sugar, canned goods, canning jars, seeds - all things that WILL have value once the dollar tanks- all the money you hoard wont be worth squat- but knowing how to make sticky buns from scratch might just get you that Advil you forgot to prep


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## ryanthomas

Becka03 said:


> use money to buy rice, beans, toliet paper, yeast, flour,sugar, canned goods, canning jars, seeds - all things that WILL have value once the dollar tanks- all the money you hoard wont be worth squat- but knowing how to make sticky buns from scratch might just get you that Advil you forgot to prep


True enough if the entire system collapses overnight, but I'd rather have a little cash buried in the backyard than a house full of food if the house is on fire. Which brings up a tangential point: don't keep all your preps in your house. Spread them around.


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## TnAndy

Cabin Fever said:


> If the banking system fails, the US currency you've buried will probably be worthless, too. If you're going to bury something to be used when financial institutions fail, my recommendation would be to bury junk silver coins.


Amen. 

A thousand dollar bag of pre-65 US silver quarters I purchased in 2003 for *3600* "dollars" could now be sold back to the same dealer ( APMEX ) for *28,350*, according to their website. That's better than 7 fold increase in EIGHT YEARS, if you're counting.

A thousand paper dollars buried in 2003, would have bought 667 gallons of gasoline @ 1.50/gal. 

*Today, it will buy 285 gallons @ 3.50/gal.*

Burying paper money is a loosing deal. I wouldn't worry TOO much about it 'deteriorating' as the purchasing power is falling faster than it will rot.......ahahahaaaa....

A short term bank deal, cash would "probably" be OK.....keep whatever around inside you house, hidden, but accessible to you. 

Goes out past a week or so, and the S_REALLY_HAS_HIT_THE_FAN, and paper money isn't gonna buy an equal amount of toilet paper.....in fact, you'd be better off burying cases of toilet paper.....or stacking them in the barn.


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## fordy

kudzuvine said:


> In my line of work of training for preparedness, cash is a huge issue. In natural/man-made disaster and our banking system fails, due to many reasons even power, how are you going to get your money? So, maybe going back to the "good old days" of burying cash in a jar in backyard isn't such a bad idea. If the banks shut down due to economic reasons or a natural disaster, spendable cash is #1. Like to hear thoughts on this - what is your plan?



................had your cash jugs been buried somewhere in vermont , you just might be completely , Broke , now ! , fordy:yuck:


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## edcopp

Cabin Fever said:


> If the banking system fails, the US currency you've buried will probably be worthless, too. If you're going to bury something to be used when financial institutions fail, my recommendation would be to bury junk silver coins.


I second that commotion.

The best safe is likely an old peanut butter jar. Pint size or so. It will hold a goodly amount of "junk silver". If more room is needed get another safe of the same type. Might be good to keep a few that have not been opened yet, too.

I like to put a brown paper bag in the peanut butter before putting the coins in. Open it up and put the coins inside, looks like a jar of peanut butter from a distance. An old peanut butter jar really does not look out of place in most places. Fill the jar half full of silver and the top half full of small nails. Keep a small hammer nearby.


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## Ernie

Having some of your resources in small, portable assets is just a good idea. 

According to my family history, when those darned Yankees came through Kentucky they burned our family out of their farm and stole everything that wasn't nailed down. Some male relative of mine (the Genealogical Aunts are fuzzy on the particulars) went back after the soldiers had gone and retrieved a small chest they'd buried that had some silver in it. They used that to survive on and relocate to Texas. 

Since then it has been a family tradition to always be ready to flee in the middle of the night and have enough resources to subsist on while in hiding.


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## texican

ryanthomas said:


> True enough if the entire system collapses overnight, but I'd rather have a little cash buried in the backyard than a house full of food if the house is on fire. Which brings up a tangential point: don't keep all your preps in your house. Spread them around.


I like both... Cash, in FRN's... several hundred in nickles, several in cents, some silver, food in multiple locations... and prep goods in even more locations...

After teotwawki, the cash would be worthless... with the burned out cache of food, at least a few cans might survive.


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## homstdr74

For storing anything underground, the PVC pipe method is the way to go, IMO. You don't need to put a screwcap on both ends; cap one end completely off, then put the screwcap on the other end--when you tighten it down, use teflon tape in the threads to keep out any possible moisture, and your stuff will remain dry.

The "pipe-safe" can hold all sorts of things, depending on diameter and length of pipe. I know a guy who put his disassembled rifle underground in a 6" diameter pipe. Smaller diameters and shorter lengths can hold other treasures such as coins or whatever. Personally I'd never put paper anything underground, no matter how watertight the container.


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## denaliguide

are the "savers" blessing. Since it comes in all sizes, you can pretty much put what you want in the dirt. Just like mapping when your laying mines, you should map what you do. I dont care if you put it in code, just make sure there is KEY to the code( see "GOLD WARRIORS" and see how the Japanese mapped their treasure in code). You could put that info in a myriad of places, the coded instructions for your map. Certainly food saves and sealable bags make things more interesting. I think that lots of things need be "put away" including storable medical supplies, some currency, some coins,some silver, signalling equipment, etc etc etc. I also thing the idea of dispersed locations is good as long as they are going to be accessed long term.



homstdr74 said:


> For storing anything underground, the PVC pipe method is the way to go, IMO. You don't need to put a screwcap on both ends; cap one end completely off, then put the screwcap on the other end--when you tighten it down, use teflon tape in the threads to keep out any possible moisture, and your stuff will remain dry.
> 
> The "pipe-safe" can hold all sorts of things, depending on diameter and length of pipe. I know a guy who put his disassembled rifle underground in a 6" diameter pipe. Smaller diameters and shorter lengths can hold other treasures such as coins or whatever. Personally I'd never put paper anything underground, no matter how watertight the container.


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