The Bomb has dropped and the dust has settled, the earth is safe to travel again. As people pour out from the cracks of the crust and the safety of their shelters, they wander the wasteland just trying to survive. Speaking of surviving, what is the one thing sure to survive a nuclear war? That's right! Economics! Need to buy supplies and put bread on that glowing table? Dollar bills just ain't gunna cut it without a bank. Let's get to the best currencies to use after the nuclear war.

Besides the necessities of living, people will need to enjoy life. One of the ways to do this is to revert to one of our most primitive past times, collecting. People collect all sorts of oddities. From coins to sneakers to back scratchers.

But the best thing to collect in this new world would be the forgotten memories of the old world. A world series baseball, a beautiful painting, an irreplaceable photograph.

These are things that could never be created again and bring memories of a lost world, along with passing on the stories to the next generation. Not an overarching currency, but one that definitely deserves a place. 

Food will be essential to the survival of the human race in the new world, but once consumed, food is gone forever. That means there will be a finite supply. Due to the scarcity of nourishment, growing your own will almost be necessary. Can't grow your own without seeds, to which they will hold different values based on the types of seeds as well. Vegetable and fruit seeds probably hold the highest value, seeds that offer shade and lumber are probably next, and ornamental being the least valuable subjectively.

The reason for the low rank is due to the fact that seeds become incredibly plentiful once the crops get going, still deserving a top ten rank. Turns out money does grow on trees. 

The clothes on your back offer more than a fashion choice, they provide the ultimate protection. While fashion could still be important, protection from the elements, insects, animals, and whatever debris might be leftover could save your life. Infection and disease could be caused by minor incidents that clothing could prevent.

Production of clothing will most likely be minimal so whatever clothing that survived the war will ultimately be it. That means finding clothing with the needed utility and size will be tough, claiming it a spot on this list.

Surviving the barren wasteland is more than eating and drinking well. You must also protect yourself from other people. Most importantly, you must protect yourself from, well, yourself. Keeping your mental health in check will keep you safe in the long run as well as the short run, pretty much any run. An easy way to keep you on Earth is entertainment.

This includes games like poker or Dukes of Nukes, books like Harry Potter or Moby Dick, sports equipment like footballs or soccer balls. This could also include music or other multimedia though this may pose a challenge due to playability. Keeping yourself sane gets a spot on the list.

Good tools are hard to come by but will last a lifetime. This may not be entirely true but they are hard to manufacture and are requirements to building a fruitful existence. If you want a decent shelter then the only way to do this is with the right tools.

Repairing broken goods will also be a recurring theme in the wasteland and this will only be possible with tools. These are rated this high because a lot of things on this list will also require tools, so here we are. 

What more can be said, these are needed to survive. There will be an incredibly limited supply of both food and water and will be wildly valuable depending on your needs and conditions. But due to the overwhelming knowledge that food and water will be valuable, there will be an abundance of individuals working on stocking up on these on day one. 

Want to build a house? Plant some crops? Raise livestock? Repair anything? You will probably need help because no one is an expert in everything. Trading your services could be the easiest way to barter in the bleak future.

Knowledge is power and some services will be needed by many. Everyone will have their own trade and this will be a backbone of the new world economy. 

Once the medicine in the world is gone it will most likely be gone forever due to manufacturing restrictions and complicated processes that won't be known by many. With something as important as a life saving pill, medicine will hold as a top three currency in the world of post nuclear war.

Another reason that this is top three is that trading away your own medicine is a hard decision to make but could easily be the much needed treasure to sway a barter your way.

Guns throw the economics of the wasteland off a bit as you can just take what you want the more guns you have and your willingness to use them. As popular as this method of survival may be, you will need ammunition to execute it. Guns don't work without bullets.

To protect yourself from this method you will also need a gun, which will need ammunition. This ranks so high because of the usefulness of guns in the apocalypse, which need ammo.

Batteries provide power and power will keep you alive above all else. I am also including generators and the like under batteries. Need to see in the dark? Batteries. Need to power electronics? Batteries. Need to power transportation? Batteries can help with that.

So many of our devices we use today require batteries and electricity so I could only imagine the remnants in the wasteland from the old world will need batteries to work in the new world. I think batteries would be so sought after that it makes number 1 on this list.