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Due to its lack of industrial uses, the overwhelming majority of mined gold is turned into jewelry, bars or coins. In contrast, the uses for silver dwarf those of gold. Few are aware but silver is the best conductor of heat of all metals, the best conductor of electricity of all metals and one of the most reflective substances on the planet. Moreover, gold is roughly 67 times more expensive than one ounce of silver, yet many recent studies estimate that there are only ~16 ounces of silver in the earth’s crust for every ounce of gold.
So who actually is using or buying silver? From solar companies taking advantage of silver’s reflective and conductive properties for solar electricity generation to textile companies adding silver to athletic gear to help kill bacteria and odor from sweating, industrial users have been a clear purchaser of silver for decades.
Despite silver thriving within the precious metals in 2014, when most people think of precious metals, gold is typically the first example that comes to mind. Many people are aware of gold’s role as a currency for thousands of years, its ability to resist tarnishing, its rarity, density and luster (all of which are also true for silver to varying extents). Gold really has enjoyed its position as top dog in the precious metals world, BUT, it is possible that silver may be even more important to the world’s future than gold!
Due to its lack of industrial uses, the overwhelming majority of mined gold is turned into jewelry, bars or coins. In contrast, the uses for silver dwarf those of gold. Few are aware but silver is the best conductor of heat of all metals, the best conductor of electricity of all metals and one of the most reflective substances on the planet. Moreover, gold is roughly 67 times more expensive than one ounce of silver, yet many recent studies estimate that there are only ~16 ounces of silver in the earth’s crust for every ounce of gold.
So who actually is using or buying silver? From solar companies taking advantage of silver’s reflective and conductive properties for solar electricity generation to textile companies adding silver to athletic gear to help kill bacteria and odor from sweating, industrial users have been a clear purchaser of silver for decades.
Other significant purchasers of silver have been Chinese and Indian citizens who for centuries have traditionally given gifts of silver to celebrate holidays and weddings. More recently we have begun to see hedge funds and pension funds take delivery of silver as either a way to take advantage of a potentially undervalued asset or a means to diversify away from dollar denominated assets.
As geopolitical uncertainty increases, we have also started to see many North American citizens purchase physical silver as a way to own an asset removed from counterparty risk to financial institutions. The myriad of new investors and uses for silver has most likely contributed to the 6-fold increase in investment demand for silver over the past decade alone.
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