Not for me. My name's not listed there this morning so I got up, brushed my teeth and had a cup of coffee.....
So 1% of the human population is 700 million? FYI.. you may want to double-check your math on this one.
Meh - 700 million vs 70 million. Close enough for government work. What's scary is that it took two days for someone to notice.
I believe, when society collapses water, guns/ammunition, food, transportation, shelter, clothing are what people need and want. PM will be excess baggage, dead weight to lug around. Dump the PM and carry more guns, ammo and food. If it happens, right away I'll trade my AGEs, AGBs, bullion, etc for armored transportation, more guns, ammo and portable food.
If the apocalypse happens, which it won't at least in our life time, there will be no need for money, or PMs. Weapons and drinkable water, shelter and food will be the only needs. Food can be hunted, fished, trapped, etc. People should learn to live off the land. That will be the priority.
I think much would depend on the nature of the collapse. Is it local or global? Did the economy collapse, or did the government collapse? Are the local governments still effective? Is there at least a semblance of order? Are people confident that order will be restored? I think it also depends on where you live - Urban vs rural. Coastal vs inland. North vs South. No, not that North vs South, but can you grow food year round? Can you survive the winter without electricity or fuel? Predicting the future is not quite as simple as many people like to think it is. It's not simply order or apocalypse with nothing in between. In a place like NYC, I can see PMs not being worth very much. There are too many people and not enough resources. Food, water, gas, guns and ammo will likely command a premium. In Astoria, OR, it would probably be the other way around. They have a good climate for growing food year round, they have the ocean, they have fresh water, etc. People wouldn't be as concerned about their immediate survival as those in NYC. Here in MT, there are even less people, but our winters are cold and long. There's more than enough guns, ammo and water to go around, but I imagine fuel and food would command a premium during the winter months.
Wait, what? I didn't get that memo. How do you know this? I need to be kept in the loop on stuff like this! I can't argue with that. Too many people are far too dependent on the status quo. They would starve if they couldn't buy their food.
"If the apocalypse happens, which it won't at least in our life time . . . ." I wonder what else your crystal ball tells you. Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami wiped out part of japan yet the people didn't riot or even steal from abandoned homes. The fortunate helped the unfortunate. Where I live bands of disenfranchised teenagers and preteenagers run wild, mainly on holiday weekends, and destroy everything in their path. Several years ago, I returned home from sailing got out of the car to stop in a 7-11 store to buy a Coke. In store were several dozen kids around 8 - 14 years old. Something didn't feel "right." instead of making a purchase I left the store. As I'm walking back to my car I hear a disturbance turn around in time to watch the "kids" throwing heavy canned goods (probably stolen from the store) at a young couple leaving the store. A few months ago, a group of people attacked a drunk guy, robbed him, beat him up, then stole his clothes. They Recorded the attack on a smartphone then posted the video online. After watching the video local police arrested some of the attackers which included at least one woman. later most, if not all, of the charges were dropped. Now imagine what these people will do when society completely breaks down.
I'm willing to bet, some would die if restaurants went away and people were forced to only prepare and eat the food they bought from the grocery store.
+1...! The "food" many people bring home from the grocery store is already killing them, contributing to diseases like diabetes and obesity and who knows what else. If people were forced to only prepare and eat the food they raised and harvested they'd certainly suffer, if not starve to death or become like zombies prowling on neighbors for their food... History shows us how quickly that affected early English colonists. People in the U.S. even give thanks annually for not succumbing to such a fate.