Maybe 1 CTU = 6 oz. silver? Right now 6 oz. silver at spot price is about $185, but if there's a currency collapse there would probably be nothing to stop you from melting pennies, at which point you might get 80% spot price due to their suboptimal composition.
so below is what I kind of imagined paired up with what the AOCS uses but also based just on spot but what seemed to make sense for units. Most of it is for "making change" not desirablity as small more precious units would always be prefered.
100 oz silver ingot - 5000 units
1oz gold - 2000 units
1/2 gold - 1000 units
1/4 gold - 500 units
5 silver oz round bar - 250 units
1/10th eagle of other gold round, coin, bar - 200 units
1/20th or pennyweight of gold - 100 units
3 silver oz rounds - 150 units
Eagle or .999 rounds or ingots (31.104 grams) - 50 units
Silver dollar (24.057 grams) - 39 units
Silver half 90% (11.250 grams) - 18 units
10 silver gram bar - 16 units
Silver Quarter (5.625 grams) - 9 units
5 silver gram bar - 8.5 units
Silver half 40% (4.60 grams) - 8 units
1 pound copper bar - 6 units
Silver pre 65 dime (2.250 grams) - 4 units
War nickel (1.750 grams) - 3 units
1 kilo copper ingot - 2 units
1 pound lead ingot - 2 units
Copper round 1 oz - 2 units
Copper round .5 oz - 1 unit
75%/25% Nickel - 1/10th of a unit (2 units per roll)
92% copper penny* - 1/30th of a unit (1.6 per roll or 5 per three rolls)
Zinc pennies or any non-silver US coin including quarters, dimes, etc. - 1/500th or less to 0 units.
There are bigger units but these are those I see as typical for bartering. Units have logical scale so they can be figured off the data below.
Few notes:
This doesn't take into account premiums such as Eagles vs generic ingots, collectibility of coinage, or even condition. This is purely looking at metal costs today and what they might stack up like. Threw in some various others for barter yard stick marks. Also does not take into discounted prices for scrap metal such as copper pipe, gold jewelry scrap, etc.
On copper AOCS vs pennies:
Copper is a base metal so it is weight in Avoidupois (AVDP or AV) 16 oz pound.
Pre 1982 U.S. Lincoln Cents uncirculated (NO WEAR) (except the 1943 Zinc Coated Steel) have a total weight of 3.11 grams. 95% is Copper and 5% is Zinc.
3.11g * 95% = 2.9545g per coin is pure Copper and it takes 453.59237 grams to equal 1 lb AVDP (16oz). Therefore, if you divide 453.59237 / 2.9545 = 153.525933322 or 154 pre 1982 Cents to equal 1 lb AV or 153.525933322 / 16 = 9.59537083262 or a little more than 9.6 cents to equal 1oz AV pure Copper
1983 to Date U.S. Cents uncirculated (NO WEAR) have a total weight of 2.5 grams. 2.5% is Copper and 97.5% is Zinc.
2.5g * 2.5% = .0625g per coin is pure Copper and it takes 453.59237 grams to equal 1 lb AVDP (16oz). therefore, if you divide 453.59237 / .0625 = 7257.47792 or 7257 Cents to equal 1 lb AV or 7257.47792 / 16 = 453.59237 or 453.5 cents to equal 1oz AV pure Copper.
Of course, you can convert the AV to Troy weight if so desired and with the math (basis 373.2417216 grams to 1 Troy lb or 31.1034768 grams to 1 Troy oz) you come up with:
pre 1982 U.S. Lincoln Cents (except 1943) 10.5263 cents to a Troy oz or 126 cents to a troy pound of pure Copper.
And 1983 to Date you get 497.6 cents to 1 troy oz or 5971 cents to a troy lb of pure Copper.
