It was only a few weeks ago that I sounded the warning: It’s time to stock up on silver before the price rises. Sure enough, the price went up past $47 an ounce recently, which is above the melt value of many items on eBay. I worry about this because I don’t want to see another generation of treasures destroyed to feed short-term profitability.
To be sure, the investment implications are foremost. Everyone should have bags of “junk silver” sitting around somewhere in the home for emergencies. There is no local merchant who will not take these coins at market value, which should tell you something. When paper (and digital paper) fails, silver will always be valuable and useful.
That said, I admit the following: My personal drive is aesthetics. Silver is the key to a great-looking table. I’m talking candlesticks, flatware, serving trays, platters, coffee pots, you name it. There is no way to have too much silver in your home.
Silver is civilization. Silverplate is beautiful and affordable, but the real thing is better: sterling and U.S. coin silver. This is the product for which you should hold out and buy when possible. There is no replacement for the weight and authenticity of a solid and beautiful sterling silver fork and spoon.
A marriage that starts with silver has a better chance of survival. Every child should first eat with a silver spoon, if only to fulfill a cliché. Silver is available to anyone and everyone, and we should all avail ourselves of the opportunity.
My point in urging people to buy silver immediately is that every market indication suggested that it was ready for a move up. It was $39 an ounce at that point. Doing the math, it was obvious that at $43 an ounce, many silver pieces on the used market would be more valuable melted than used as what they are. This is when the tragedy begins. Beautiful pieces are purchased only to be melted and sold again.
This happens during periods of grave economic uncertainty and inflation. In 1980, people were buying treasures and melting them just for the value of the silver itself. That was deeply sad, as beautiful objects from the 19th century and before ended up in the smelting fires of the profitability push. It happened again in 2010 following the financial crisis of 2008, when the used market could not keep up with the specie price and another generation of silver goods was wrecked in the fires.
It has taken 15 years for the market of used silver to replenish itself. When I saw market conditions lining up for another boom, with roaring inflation and negligent sellers in the used market, I sent out a plea for people to upgrade their flatware and serving trays, and also buy junk silver coins.
Here we are, with a 30 percent rise in price in a very short period of time. I’m guessing that as I write, savvy investors are scarfing up the used silver and readying for the fires. This should not happen in a good and moral civilization, but here we are: People in economic crisis put survival ahead of beauty every time.
Sadly, moving on the markets right now feels a bit too late. It might not be. We don’t know where prices are headed. But the conditions right now are ripe for a boom in precious metals: gold and silver, in particular.
What are those conditions?
No. 1: uncertainty. We certainly have that, with politics all over the world in a state of upheaval and variously punctuated by violence, both organized and seemingly random. Public figures these days fear moving about at public events without maximum security.
No. 2: economic decline. Many people hoped for some magical turnaround with a new party controlling Washington, but the headwinds in the other direction are too strong. The middle class continues to suffer, and conditions are getting worse, with the next generation now certain that it has been robbed of economic opportunity.
No. 3: We might be headed into a second wave of inflation following the first wave from 2021 to 2024. Upward price pressure lessened for the first three months of 2025, but have turned in the other direction. In addition, political pressure is growing for the Federal Reserve to mitigate against labor market stagnation with another rate cut.
As it is, the quantity of money in dollars is now above what it was at the height of the COVID-19 easing in 2022, which means that the central bank is no longer prioritizing the cleaning up of its last grave error. Now it is again deploying easy money to forestall the next crisis.
This is all very bad news for the middle class, but it does have implications for where the smart money is going. The answer is gold, silver, and real estate, historically. Given crypto innovation, Bitcoin and other tokens in the $4 trillion industry are also wise bets. In such times, people flee to safety, and all of these represent exactly that.
I have a special partiality toward silver because in history it was always the people’s money. Most U.S. coins were made of it until very recently. Holding silver is like having freedom and independence in your pocket. In the 1870s, the farmers and working classes rallied around silver and preferred it to gold, which they saw as the rich man’s metal.
I’m all for the gold standard, of course, but there is still something populist and glorious about silver, with its rich history and perpetual beauty. Plus polishing silver is one of life’s great joys.
My father was a huge collector, something I did not know until after his death when my brother and I found a big safe with his huge collection. I should not have been shocked. He was such a strong believer in the idea of freedom, and he tried his best to pass on the significance of that idea to me.
As for other silver in the house, there is nothing quite as wonderful as a table with silver candlesticks, flatware, serving pieces, and platters. New or used, it hardly matters. Maybe it is not too late. We are coming up to the gift-giving season. There is no better gift for you and the ones you love.
It also happens to be a fantastic investment in the future right now. Even in times of paper money and unrelenting economic crisis, silver does and will continue to retain its value. I make only one request: Please don’t melt down another generation of treasures based on short-term gain. I say that with full knowledge that it is going to happen anyway.
