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Last active December 20, 2015 09:30
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Time-travel barter goods, a short list.
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barter-across-time.md

Coming from the 21st Century

Peanut butter cups

Chocolate + sugar + peanut butter. A winning combination throughout the ages. Even people who can't understand your language can immediately determine the value of a peanut butter cup. It's Prime Directive friendly (difficult to reproduce and unlikely to affect the course of other recipes), consumable (fewer twonky problems), cheap enough (for the traveler) to give to a child for a quick bit of information, and valuable enough (to the local) to barter for items of immense value.

350-Farad capacitors

(idea from @wikkit on Twitter) A 350-Farad capacitor is small enough to fit in the hand and available for $11. An electrical engineer from the mid-1800s to mid 20th C would easily be able to verify it and would value it highly.

Aluminum foil

(another idea from @wikkit) Best before 1825. Could be sold in small sheets to jewelers.

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