Prior to the point in my story when the nature of the looming apocalypse becomes known, my main character acquires a large (6-foot) air-tight freezer chest, puts it (unplugged) in his basement, fills it with treasures, then pumps it full of nitrogen gas and padlocks it shut. Later in the story, he passes the key and location on to his children. My intension is that the children will re-equip themselves from this treasure chest during the sequel.

The treasures include a rifle with ammo, several handguns with ammo, knives & whetting stones, camping supplies, various chemistry/engineering/architectural text-books, local maps, and fruit/vegetable seeds. My main character is not very wealthy, so this cache can only contain items that can be acquired by an average current-day American.

My question is... What else should he put in the chest?

What every day available items would have extraordinary value in a post-apocalyptic world, regardless of the nature of the cataclysm which destroyed civilization?

Prior to the point in my story when the nature of the looming apocalypse becomes known, my main character acquires a large (6-foot) air-tight freezer chest, puts it (unplugged) in his basement, fills it with treasures, then pumps it full of nitrogen gas and padlocks it shut. Later in the story, he passes the key and location on to his children. My intension is that the children will re-equip themselves from this treasure chest during the sequel.

The treasures include a rifle with ammo, several handguns with ammo, knives & whetting stones, camping supplies, various chemistry/engineering/architectural text-books, local maps, and fruit/vegetable seeds. My main character is not very wealthy, so this cache can only contain items that can be acquired by an average current-day American.

My question is... What else should he put in the chest?

What every day available items would have extraordinary value in a post-apocalyptic world, regardless of the nature of the cataclysm which destroyed civilization?

---- Edit ---- The creator of the treasure chest has no idea when or if it will ever be opened, so anything perishable (unfortunately including medications) will not be included. No parent wants to give their child a worthless/expired gift.

As it turns out, in this particular story, the chest will be opened after about five years. It is mainly a tool for connecting the two stories together, allowing me to recap the previous events in the early pages of the sequel.

Prior to the point in my story when the nature of the looming apocalypse becomes known, my main character acquires a large (6-foot) air-tight freezer chest, puts it (unplugged) in his basement, fills it with treasures, then pumps it full of nitrogen gas and padlocks it shut. Later in the story, he passes the key and location on to his children. My intension is that the children will re-equip themselves from this treasure chest during the sequel.

The treasures include a rifle with ammo, several handguns with ammo, knives & whetting stones, camping supplies, various chemistry/engineering/architectural text-books, local maps and fruit/vegetable seeds. My main character is not very wealthy, so this cache can only contain items that can be acquired by an average current-day american.

My question is... What else should he put in the chest?

What every day available items would have extraordinary value in a post-apocalyptic world, regardless of the nature of the cataclysm which destroyed civilization?

Prior to the point in my story when the nature of the looming apocalypse becomes known, my main character acquires a large (6-foot) air-tight freezer chest, puts it (unplugged) in his basement, fills it with treasures, then pumps it full of nitrogen gas and padlocks it shut. Later in the story, he passes the key and location on to his children. My intension is that the children will re-equip themselves from this treasure chest during the sequel.

The treasures include a rifle with ammo, several handguns with ammo, knives & whetting stones, camping supplies, various chemistry/engineering/architectural text-books, local maps, and fruit/vegetable seeds. My main character is not very wealthy, so this cache can only contain items that can be acquired by an average current-day American.

My question is... What else should he put in the chest?

What every day available items would have extraordinary value in a post-apocalyptic world, regardless of the nature of the cataclysm which destroyed civilization?