I recently did this research. Probably not surprising. Here's the summary: Summarizing the Gold vs. Silver debate: At the time this article is being written gold is around 74 times more expensive than silver. Expect the gold price to return to its historical average of 15 to 17 times the price of silver over the long run. Annually, there is only 3 times more silver supply available for investment than gold. The US Mint sold 55 times more silver than gold in dollar value in 2014. In the ground, there is only ten times more silver reserves than gold reserves. Above the ground, there is only 5.7 times more silver than gold. Approximately 70% of silver is consumed (not recyclable at current prices), but only 2% of gold is consumed at this time. Bottom line... silver is a much better long-term investment than gold! Allocate some of your portfolio to silver, preferably silver bullion. You (and your children) will be glad you did. http://www.choosingsilver.com/gold-vs-silver.html Thoughts?
You forget that most people don't really care about silver, but they do understand and care about gold, they know it's valuable. They don't have the same appreciation for silver. There is no rule that says that the GSR has to go back, who's to say silver hasn't had it's time?
Great that you're doing research - my thoughts are: The contemporary value ratio (74:1) between silver and gold does not of itself imply that there will be a return to the long term historical value ( 15-17:1). Current supply probably reflects that silver is more abundant than gold in the earth's crust, often silver is extracted as a bonus to the gold ( which is often a bonus to the base metal ) Silver's cheap compared to gold so more people can afford it, although 55's a lot. Gross amounts in the ground don't count, only 3PPP reserves do - ie what's extractable at a profit to the market now. Actually the historical ratio is supposed to reflect the relative abundance, 10 seems a bit low. Above the ground reflects the fact that the minerals occur as mixtures - 5.7 seems to be not unreasonable. Consumption is the key factor - silver is not as recyclable currently as gold has been. Silver appears to be a reasonable bet...
When you are the author of a website called 'Choosing Silver', I'd say your mind is pretty much already made up on the subject!
That's a hard one to buy into... If you are talking about the west in general or locally where I live I would say that most people don't care about gold and silver. If you are talking about China and India, most people there care about both. If you are talking about Central Banks, Hedge Funds and Sovereign Wealth Funds - there I agree with you... they don't care about silver and do understand and care about gold.
Nice... Mr PT Cruiser, I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that. I believe I was impartial though.
Mr RichardAL, we seem to be mostly in agreement on everything else you said. But this one here... hmmmm... I'll grant that the GSR does not of itself imply that there will be a return to the long term historical value. But I still think it will. Or should I say based on the other Pro-silver stats I mention I believe it will.
Mr. Sammy, His book was my re-introduction into the precious metals market. I am a fan. If he says it it must be true.
Seriously, everyone with silver would be trying to convert it to gold. There would not be enough gold out there (or people willing to trade their gold) to do it.[/quote] And when the demand for gold increases the price will re-adjust and GSR will start to separate and climbing again to 80-1.
Hmmm... Ms JulieW, this is the first I have heard of this idea. Do you favor gold or silver for investment purposes?
This is a well balanced look at Gold vs Silver I work with a work force of a few thousand people. Most people have a reasonable idea of the value of gold,but ask them about silver and most times you get blank looks unless they own silver or have been looking at buying silver. Gold has instant recognizability and most people even if they do not own any can give you a fairly good estimate of its price and value. Personally i love both. Saying that Silver presents me with storage problems. As a store of value it sucks. $5,000 dollars of silver in my back pocket gives me plumbers crack and an unwanted baggy fashion sense,whereas 5k of gold in my back pocket gives me a sense of freedom,wealth and privacy. And as a member here succinctly puts it 'If you can't bone it you don't own it" forget about anything with the words 'Allocated' in it. And this from SilverDJ is a prudent observation 'There is no rule that says that the GSR has to go back, who's to say silver hasn't had it's time?' There is an old saying 'Gold is Gold' But i ask in this day and age 'Really what is Silver'? Gold holdings by Central banks all over the world make headlines but Silver holdings Has Silver had its time? Even when it hit the $40 per ounce levels it never really rallied past market manipulation. Gold-Heavy weight boxer Silver-Feather weight boxer In many ways i would love to see a forum called Gold stackers then i could comfortably slip my information and belief bias into a like minded community REDBACK
Hey... There's a lot of goldstackers in this forum, you're not alone. But we like that other shiny stuff, too.
Mr REDBACK, you make a good case for the appeal of gold vs silver. It's undeniable. I believe I made a good case for the stats of gold vs silver. More than likely the truth (price) is somewhere in the middle. Price
I posted this image a few years back. It's based on my view that silver is a speculative purchase whereas gold is a hedge or store of value. As such, those with little wealth and an emerging income base (young workers) or those with greater wealth and a declining income base (those approaching retirement) should concentrate their PM holdings in gold as opposed to silver.
Thanks for this. Why wouldn't younger people want to be more speculative in other words buy more silver?
