
“Don’t take any wooden nickels!\” That was the saying years ago that meant be cautious in your interactions, business dealings, and purchases. A wooden nickel was a token or scrip that was redeemable for specific items depending on who issued it. In the early days of American expansion, companies would issue paper scrip or tokens as part of their payout of wages to employees. These substitutes for real money could be used at the Company Store to purchase needed items. In those out-of-the-way businesses, it was difficult to get to a town where you could purchase personal provisions. Companies helped their workers by providing goods, but many times the items had a heavy mark-up. Sixteen Tons is a song, sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1956, about how life was for coal miners and gives an example of how a company store worked.
Using something other than authorized money such as the Dollar, Yen, Pound, Euro, or another state-issued currency was not an uncommon occurrence. During the American Civil War, The Great Depression, and many other times of economic distress token forms of money were distributed locally so that commerce could continue. It is much like a way to barter for goods and services using a local item that everyone in that location agrees will act like money. S&H Green Stamps, store coupons, punch cards, and even those buy-one-get-one sales are a form of currency locally accepted for discounts or items.
In our digital era, is it any wonder that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have become the new Wooden Nickel? Skeptics might claim the right to be cautious, but more intrepid souls have embraced this form of scrip. Precious metals, which have been the currency for centuries, are another form of wealth that many folks are securing to diversify their investment portfolios. The recent uptick in our inflated government-issued money has made many people look elsewhere for financial security.
Since 1945, the United States and Saudi Arabia made an agreement that created the Petrodollar. Oil was the new asset that backed our money system. Previously, the U.S. had gold and silver reserves that bankrolled the American buck. Until recently, the U.S. ability to keep its financial standing with the world, who pegged their currencies to the dollar, has gone unchallenged. That may have changed in recent months. The Gateway Pundit reports-
“For the last 50 years, the petrodollar was in place. Big oil made its transactions in USD. Then a couple of days ago, Russia and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement that likely went beyond the military and defense cooperation it claims. The agreement likely removes the two countries from their relationship with the dollar.” ~ Joe Hoft
If this information is correct, it would mean that our petro-backed currency is now worthless since other currencies are being accepted in payment of our long-held assets. World nations would not need our dollars to purchase goods as in the past. Countries had to exchange their currency for dollars in order to pay for oil. The exchange rate could leave them in a similar condition to the coal miners in the song- owing more than they gained.
On December 23rd, 1913, the Fed was born when President Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Even though the Fed had no reserves nor was it part of the government since it is a private corporation, it became the entity that doled out the money in the form of a loan to the U.S. America lost its ability to provide sovereign money to its citizens. Now every dollar issued was less than its original worth due to the interest that had to be paid to the Fed on the loan. Slowly, the inability to pay back the interest was kicked down the road as the debt ceiling was raised for various reasons during each administration from that time in 1913 until our present time. The purchasing power of our beloved dollar has fallen to historic levels and we are paying the price (pardon the pun) for that lack of insight, common sense, and good stewardship.
It seems that if our dollar is no longer the World Reserve Currency, then it would make sense to get out of the petro-dollar money-pit. Investing in assets that hold and possibly increase in value would be advised, though I am not a financial consultant. From my research, if the dollar becomes no better than a wooden nickel used locally in a limited fashion, finding other means to acquire goods and services would be a logical next step.
~~ Find out how Catherine curbed her manic spending in Metaphysical Girl: How I Recovered my Mental Health. Available for Pre-Order Now! Publish Date- December 26th, 2021 at Smashwords, Apple, Gardeners, Odilo, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble