Originally Posted by
BRC
A thought about currency.
Chips
Created as a form of highly portable rations during the wars that accompanied the apocalypse, Chips are a form of highly compact vegetable and protein matter. When boiled in water they will dissolve, creating a highly nutritious, if somewhat tasteless, broth.
Chips never go bad, and out on the wastes anybody with a chip, some water, and a fire can have enough food to keep them going for another day. This intrinsic value, plus their low-weight, makes them an ideal currency. In the early days of the Apocalypse Chips were mainly used as food, but nowadays they're far more frequently used as a currency. Still, it's better to be a broke man drinking broth than a rich man starving in the wastes.