Silver peaked on April 28, 2011, at $48.70. By September 6, it was down to $42. By September 30, it was at $30 That was a decline of 38%.
Gold peaked on September 6, 2011, at $1,895. By September 30, it was at $1,620. That was a decline of 14.5%. Bad, but nothing like 38%.
On Friday, April 12, silver was at $27.40, That was down 44% from its peak. Gold was at $1,535. That was down 19% from its peak.
Silver is volatile. When it falls, it always falls faster and further than gold.
When you buy silver, you buy volatility. If you buy it at the bottom and sell at the top, you will get taxed. There are no long-term capital gains taxes on the precious metals. You pay ordinary income taxes – no tax subsidy. If you buy at the top, you will get creamed in a time such as this.
For non-traders, gold is the better deal over the long haul. You get less volatility. It is for buy-and-hold investors.
I have written about this for years. Here is an article I wrote in 2010.
http://www.garynorth.com/members/6571.cfm
It links back to a debate I had with Franklin Sanders in 2006 on silver vs. gold.
Why do you think that gold has dropped so much? Is it because of China and India slowing their gold purchases? I would expect the gold bullion price to keep going up as the economy and dollar worsens. Thanks very much. ~Ed
Gary ,not sure to whom you are talking here?
Most investors use gold and silver for an inflation hedge @ 5-10% of a balanced portfolio.
With the Fed's monitary easing in the last five years and real inflation running much higher than the reported 3%,
it make sense to carry some prescious metal exposure.
There is also the "survivalist fear" of a collapse/chaos, more than hinted at by political action, in the USA.
Owning coins or bars will act as a bartering tool. I personally invest in coins with collectable value as well as the
value of the underlying silver/gold. If the economy does not collapse then these issues will increase in value far greater than
solitary ounces as they are limited in number.
For gold and other precious metal prices to "crash" like this, one would think that the federal government had gotten its fiscal house in order. That the budget was balanced. That we were paying down the national debt. That the private sector was being unleashed. That Ben Bernanke had stopped creating dollars out of thin air.