Strategy, I don't like Silver, am I wrong?

[LemmyMcGregor]

I know, this topic has come up a million times, I searched the forum... the reason why I decided to post is that, while we are on The Silver Forum and I see many stacking Silver, I just don't see any reason in it and I'd like to make the case for it, mostly because I want to know if I've got a point or I have missed something and I am flat out wrong.

EDIT: I am adding this at the top as it looks like it is being missed in wall of text. My whole point here is to look at capital conservation from a low budget perspective, I don't have much to spare and some of what I can spare I have decided to put into precious metals rather than keep it in the bank, where it only loses value thanks to inflation.

A little background:
To get started, a little about my background, which is none, as I have only recently gained an interest on the topic after discussing it at lenght with a couple of friends. I've done my first purchase nearly a month ago, getting 2 Silver Britannia from an online dealer (Bullion by Post) to get my feet wet and then I started researching, which is how I ended up with you lovely bunch of degenerates. I adore research, and Excel, I know, I'm a strange person. Anyway...

Define the goal:
The key component here is to define what we want to do and, as a stacker, I want to get the most value for the least amount of money.

Let's be clear, even as a stacker I don't see anything wrong in looking to diversify and getting different coins, as long as the price is right, when it comes to sell the worse you'll get for your 10 different 1oz coins is the same money, as they all are 1oz of precious metal, however, different coins could fetch different prices if offered first to a someone with a specific interest. On the other hand, someone might like to stack the same gold dollar and have a Scrooge McDuck bath, who knows. However, I'm going to ignore this and focus on one topic only, bang for my bucks.

The Theory:
1. Gold is King.
2. Silver bullions/bars for stackers are the worst possible option and should be avoided, I really don't see the point in it, the premiums are far too high.
3. If you want Silver, treat it as collection or buy scraps.

The Data:
I am planning my next purchase and I wanted to understand better this unholy topic that is premiums, so I went to the first website that came to mind and started looking at prices, for reference, I have used Atkinsons. Values were collected earlier this morning.

I have ported everything to grams so that I could compare 1oz coins with Sovereigns, which are listed in grams.

From left to right, coin type, weight (in either g or oz), conversion value (31.10 for oz to g, 0.9167 to get the actual gold weight in Sovereigns, as they are 22 carat), actual weight in grams, value at spot, price on the site, premium.
Left hand is Gold Sovereign and Britannia, right is Silver Britannia. Don't mind the 1/20 oz, I've seen some funny ones and included it here for curiosity, I might get a 1/20 Panda for a laugh one day, in the future, if I get really bored, and I win the lottery.

I am considering only British coins due to capital gains tax regulations, a collector might want to get Eagles, Pandas or whatever catches the eye, a stacker should look purely at value, Sovereign and Britannia.

I am looking at this from a low budget stacker perspective, so I have considered individual coins when discussing gold as I would not be able to purchase multiples, lower premiums means that you don't really get much of a discount online buying bulk, might change when dealing in person, I have no experience, so I'll stick to what I know. With Silver is worth looking at multiples as the premiums drops significantly, if I was on a budget and wanted to spend £100 a month in Silver, I'd rather wait 3 months and get 10 coins as the difference in premium is noticeable and would net me an extra ounce for the same money.

Looking at these premiums though, unless you really want Silver for whatever reasons, as a stacker Gold beats Silver hands down, there isn't even a game here, the worst premium on Gold is a Quarter Soverign at 21% versus the best premium for Silver at 45%, considering the same budget as above, going Gold I'd stretch it to 106 to get a Quarter Sovereign a month or, even better, get a half every other month. In a year, £100 a month side by side with Silver and Gold, buying in 10 x 1oz of Silver or Half Sovereign makes a huge difference.

At spot value, this is how you end up after 12 months:
With Silver you have 40 x 1 oz Silver Britannia, worth £778, and £52 change. £830 total.
With Gold you have 6 x Half Sovereign, worth 1,058, and £39 change. £1097.
It's huge, that's a 30% extra in net value, mostly VAT.

The missing factor, scraps:
There is one item that I have discussed several times with friends which I have not really seen discussed here, aside from one user that has done a very interesting post in a thread, which I really should have saved... I'll find it again, anyway, thatwould be Silver scraps. Sterling Silver can be sold easily and can be bought second hand without VAT, it should be worth to keep an eye out for auctions, drop the maximum you're interested in paying for the quantity and if you win is all gravy and you've got some nice Silver without premiums, however, I am going to ignore for the time being, haven't budgeted for this yet as it needs more research, I am considering getting involved in a few low value auctions for the sake of getting in and starting to learn about markings and metal identification, the best way to learn is by doing it.

EDIT: found the post I was referring to that made me think about premiums, only applied to Silver and Gold, rather than just Silver as in the original post, the user in question is Stefffana.

Conclusions:
My Strategy will focus on Full Sovereign for stack, I don't have the resources for Gold 1oz Britannia and the premium is the same so, why bother? Also, to the best of my understanding, Sovereign are sturdier due to being 22 carats.

I will look at skipping the odd Full Sovereign for some Quarter and Half, maybe once a year get one of each instead of getting a Full one, could be useful to have a few smaller denomination about.

For Silver I am going to nearly ignore it, I will look at getting a single Britannia for the sake of having the year and I might look to diversify into the odd release, throwing the odd quid at a Silver set twice a year doesn't sound too bad, in the future could be worth something to a collector, but I'm going to do that for entertainment and is going to be on a very limited budget, say 2 or 3 coins per year, nothing that would get in the way of the stack.

Have I missed anything?
Other than for the sake of collection, primarily due to VAT, I don't see any valid reason to buy Silver for stacking, am I missing anything? Is there something I am not understanding? As the only reasons why I see people getting on Silver, rather than gold, appears to be either budget, as they feel like they're getting more in their hands, or this idea that Silver will explode one day, but I don't really see any other reason. Am I wrong?

 

If you made it this far, thank you very much for your time, it is sincerely appreciated.

Thanks in advance anyone that is willing to contribute, I am here to learn.

Edited April 16, 2022 by LemmyMcGregor
Added references

[flyingveepixie]

Interesting and well argued points.  Gold is indeed king if you don't trust the banks or the government and are looking to protect your wealth in a safe haven which has been around and accepted as such for thousands of years, but a lot of people hold quantities of silver for other reasons, one of which is the perceived possibility of a future economic collapse and a complete currency crash.  Many consider this as a very real possibility in the not too distant future ( consider the apparently never ending obsession with the printing of money by the FED and the BOE) and in that instance silver might become useful in it's own right as an impromptu replacement for a crashed fiat currency and would be a lot easier to shift or use for trade than gold due to it's lesser value. Ditto that for just about any other SHTF scenario where your paper currency magically transforms into nothing more than little bits of worthless paper and all your lovely savings in the bank vanish on the day when without warning the banks close their doors and don't open them again...I saw the direct result of that very scenario in Bosnia when I was working there with SFOR after the war and often heard the story first hand from many who had experienced it when the banks shut up shop one Friday evening as normal and just didn't open when Monday came around. They lost everything in one fell swoop at the touch of a proverbial button and as far as I'm aware most of them never got anything back.

I'm sure there are other reasons both practical and aesthetic for holding silver and I wouldn't write it off completely...🤔

Edited April 14, 2022 by flyingveepixie

[Gordy]

54 minutes ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

the worst premium on Gold is a Quarter Soverign at 21% versus the best premium for Silver at 45%

Interesting reading indeed, made it all the way to the end but the best premium for silver at 45% is flawed unless you are simply buying from ebay or dealers, you can get silver on here for as low as 20% premium and not just on a rare occasion... 

that said, everyone to their own and its all down to personal preferences and likes... i have a bit of gold and more silver than gold but a lot of it is the collection side as some silver is amazing and like you said, buy multiples to get a better price and sell those duplicates which pay for the ones you keep, quick example for you, selling 75 2oz silver completers over a two month period nets you a £750 minimum full clear profit, you keep one... so take off £52.00 ish (price at the time) and leaves you £700 quid to buy either gold or silver whilst adding to the collection for free... 

[MagnusOpum]

Fantastic points, very well put. 

I completely agree that gold is where the value is and what should be used as a pillar of any good investment strategy. 

For me, while silver is an SHTF consideration (weight and quantity aside), I primarily apply the gold to silver ratio within my stack and track that figure against every purchase individually. When the ratio is preferable for any section of the stack I'll look to swap it for gold. Or vice versa as the case may be.

[LemmyMcGregor]

8 minutes ago, flyingveepixie said:

Interesting and well argued points.  Gold is indeed king if you don't trust the banks or the government and are looking to protect your wealth in a safe haven which has been around and accepted as such for thousands of years, but a lot of people hold quantities of silver for other reasons, one of which is the perceived possibility of a future economic collapse and a complete currency crash.  Many consider this as a very real possibility in the not too distant future and in that instance silver might become useful in it's own right as a replacement for a crashed fiat currency and would be a lot easier to shift or use for trade than gold due to it's lesser value. Ditto that for just about any other SHTF scenario where your paper currency magically transforms into nothing more than little bits of worthless paper and all your lovely savings in the bank vanish on the day when without warning the banks close their doors and don't open them again...I saw the direct result of that very scenario in Bosnia when I was working there with SFOR after the war and often heard the story first hand from many who had experienced it when the banks shut up shop one Friday evening as normal and just didn't open when Monday came around. They lost everything in one fell swoop at the touch of a perceived button and as far as I am aware most of them never got it back.

I'm sure there are other reasons for holding silver and I wouldn't write it off completely...🤔

To be fair, that is in part the reason why I am getting some Silver as well, but even in a terrible hit the fan scenario, you wouldn't want to stack Silver, as not only a minimal amount would be sufficient to get started, while you could subsequently break the gold, but in case of emergency would you rather have to carry with you 10oz of gold or 800oz silver?

There are indeed pros and cons, I was merely considering the stacker perspective of protecting your capital.

1 minute ago, Gordy said:

Interesting reading indeed, made it all the way to the end but the best premium for silver at 45% is flawed unless you are simply buying from ebay or dealers, you can get silver on here for as low as 20% premium and not just on a rare occasion... 

that said, everyone to their own and its all down to personal preferences and likes... i have a bit of gold and more silver than gold but a lot of it is the collection side as some silver is amazing and like you said, buy multiples to get a better price and sell those duplicates which pay for the ones you keep, quick example for you, selling 75 2oz silver completers over a two month period nets you a £750 minimum full clear profit, you keep one... so take off £52.00 ish (price at the time) and leaves you £700 quid to buy either gold or silver whilst adding to the collection for free... 

The little I've seen showed coins at prices as good as 25/oz, plus delivery, that is still around a 35/40% premium, I am genuinely not aware if there are any cheaper about for small quantities.

If you buy bigger quantities you get a much better price, however, as clearly stated, I am talking as someone on a tight budget that can afford a few quids a month and would not be able to throw money at a 1kg Silver bar, still, as a starting up pure stacker, why pay 20% for a 1kg Silver bar when you can pay 4% for a Sovereign?

For the latter, I do appreciate your strategy, however, you can see the problem in your argument when I talk about a small budget stacker that could buy 40oz a year in small batches and you reply with a strategy to make money selling 150oz of Silver. Let's be clear, I love your point and is something that I have considered for the future, but it does require a major investment that can't be done by someone on a tight budget.

On the topic, if in the future I was interested in purchasing large quantities such as you suggest for resale, what would be the best avenue?

[FourNinesFine]

Great post and well reasoned. I can only speak for myself as a very new stacker but two things in silver's favour.

1. It's beautiful. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I just find it mesmerizing. But that's by the by from a stacking / value perspective.
2. It's a very useful 'entry point' to PM stacking

I don't think that I'd have had the conviction to learn what I have learned if gold had been the only way in. I know it's 'actually' silly when confronted with the data, as per your post, but getting your hands on something big and heavy (and in multiples) was the key for me. That I've now come aorund to all the reasons for stacking gold that you mention, doesn't take away from what silver did in terms of piquing my interest.

Just wanted to make that important point. Aside from that, I agree with your conclusions but will stack some silver for aesthetic reasons - aside from my actual stacking ambitions.

FNF.

[Gordy]

6 minutes ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

On the topic, if in the future I was interested in purchasing large quantities such as you suggest for resale, what would be the best avenue?

Those completers were bought off an online dealer at 25 a time as to get an even better price I would need to buy 50 or 100+ and you never know how they will shift, it was when prices were lower and when the completers first came out so timing was a big factor with those ones i must admit

Good deals for full tubes on here can be bought when prices are right too when you have the means to maybe get something to move on elsewhere although on here the members tend to know whats a good deal and unless its something they want you need to lower margins to sell on here, ebay is different but comes with its own problems as we all know. 

[LemmyMcGregor]

38 minutes ago, MagnusOpum said:

Fantastic points, very well put. 

I completely agree that gold is where the value is and what should be used as a pillar of any good investment strategy. 

For me, while silver is an SHTF consideration (weight and quantity aside), I primarily apply the gold to silver ratio within my stack and track that figure against every purchase individually. When the ratio is preferable for any section of the stack I'll look to swap it for gold. Or vice versa as the case may be.

Please, don't take my point as an attack on anyone that stacks Silver, if that is what you have chosen because it feels better to you, you have got my blessings, we each make our own choices. See also the next reply from FourNineFine, he likes Silver, who am I to argue your taste?

I merely made the above point because it feels like many start on Silver as you can accumulate more volume in a shorter time, however, as a budget investor I feel better served by value rather volume. Even preparing for a SHTF situation or, you could say that especially because you are preparing for a SHTF scenario, I wouldn't mind being served first by the ability to start wth a solid stack, which I wouldn't mind shaping at a latter stage. As clearly stated, I have an interested in getting a handful of smaller value coins myself for the same reason, however, they are to add to the bulk which will be in low premium items.

11 minutes ago, FourNinesFine said:

Great post and well reasoned. I can only speak for myself as a very new stacker but two things in silver's favour.

1. It's beautiful. I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I just find it mesmerizing. But that's by the by from a stacking / value perspective.
2. It's a very useful 'entry point' to PM stacking

I don't think that I'd have had the conviction to learn what I have learned if gold had been the only way in. I know it's 'actually' silly when confronted with the data, as per your post, but getting your hands on something big and heavy (and in multiples) was the key for me. That I've now come aorund to all the reasons for stacking gold that you mention, doesn't take away from what silver did in terms of piquing my interest.

Just wanted to make that important point. Aside from that, I agree with your conclusions but will stack some silver for aesthetic reasons - aside from my actual stacking ambitions.

FNF.

1. I am with you, which is why I have made the specific point that I am considering buying the odd Silver coin, they are nice, I was having a look at this new Tudor series starting and I am very tempted, as it is my understanding that they would be released every 6 months and that schedule would fit nicely within my budget, I could get a Britannia and the 2 Tudors per year.

2. This is what I am arguing, they are not or, better said, I do appreciate your point, they are a good starting point as they allow you get a decent stack to play with in a short time, take the aforementioned £100 a month budget, in 3 months you could have a half and a quarter Gold Sovereign or 9 oz of Silver coins, at a glance it feels more, gives you the physical idea that you have achieved more, and I don't want to discount the psychological side in any way, it's important, you tend to stop doing things if you don't feel good about it.

My point comes from the perspective of someone that is merely looking at value, I don't need convincing, my interest has already piqued, I'm no spring chicken and I've got no time to waste, I don't care how big the stack is, as long as I can squeeze extra value in, and when you look purely at value for the purpose of stacking, without aestetics, Gold wins by means of lower premiums.

2 minutes ago, Gordy said:

Those completers were bought off an online dealer at 25 a time as to get an even better price I would need to buy 50 or 100+ and you never know how they will shift, it was when prices were lower and when the completers first came out so timing was a big factor with those ones i must admit

Good deals for full tubes on here can be bought when prices are right too when you have the means to maybe get something to move on elsewhere although on here the members tend to know whats a good deal and unless its something they want you need to lower margins to sell on here, ebay is different but comes with its own problems as we all know. 

Thanks mate, sincerely appreciated.

[modofantasma]

2 hours ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

Have I missed anything?

Broadly I agree gold making the most sense on paper than silver. The potential thing that could throw this though is if the 2 metals do not rise or fall by the exact same amount in the future. Say silver doubles or trebles in price whilst gold 'only' goes up by 25% in the same period. 

Just to be clear I'm not saying that is going to happen but the only true way you'll know which was best is when you come to sell at whatever point in the future that is. 

I like both metals. For me gold is the preference for practicality and as a store of wealth. £10k in silver is a significant hindrance if you want to move it about whereas £100k in gold could be transported relatively easily by almost any of the family. 

[MagnusOpum]

@LemmyMcGregor None of this is an 'attack' on anyone and I particularly enjoy this type of discussion as I really appreciate solid views from other people. I can't build an opinion until I've heard lots of others. 

Silver was an easy way into stacking for me back in the days of zero VAT imports but this kind of information is invaluable in terms of cementing the idea that gold is the right choice for investing. 

Nothing quite like a kilo bar of shiney metal though! Same as a good art piece, pristine Lego set or rare Pokémon cards (too youthful for me sadly)

[Monsmoy]

1 hour ago, modofantasma said:

The potential thing that could throw this though is if the 2 metals do not rise or fall by the exact same amount in the future. Say silver doubles or trebles in price whilst gold 'only' goes up by 25% in the same period. 

I believe this is a specific factor many consider when going through the weighting decision of gold versus silver stacking and a big enough factor to fly in the face of your data driven pro-silver argument.  The ROI on silver may be three times that of gold and, at that point, you sell in order to increase your gold ownership.  I believe very few disagree with the "Gold if for Kings", but silver is to tool that may afford you the opportunity to own more gold than a limited budget may otherwise allow.

[FourNinesFine]

1 hour ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

My point comes from the perspective of someone that is merely looking at value, I don't need convincing, my interest has already piqued, I'm no spring chicken and I've got no time to waste, I don't care how big the stack is, as long as I can squeeze extra value in, and when you look purely at value for the purpose of stacking, without aestetics, Gold wins by means of lower premiums.

Yes, we definitely agree. Just that I wasn't as resolute as you when I started, so there was a real excitement to buying a (literal) stack of metal. Plus, I don't think I've ever gotten over the enjoyment of having something big in my hands to play with. 🤣

But for the avoidance of doubt, yes, gold for stacking / wealth preservation / value etc.  👌

[modofantasma]

1 minute ago, Monsmoy said:

silver is to tool that may afford you the opportunity to own more gold than a limited budget may otherwise allow.

Very true. Worth looking at property and equities as a way of growing wealth though also if growth is the goal. For me metals I consider as part of the long term savings 

[LemmyMcGregor]

17 minutes ago, Monsmoy said:

I believe this is a specific factor many consider when going through the weighting decision of gold versus silver stacking and a big enough factor to fly in the face of your data driven pro-silver argument.  The ROI on silver may be three times that of gold and, at that point, you sell in order to increase your gold ownership.  I believe very few disagree with the "Gold if for Kings", but silver is to tool that may afford you the opportunity to own more gold than a limited budget may otherwise allow.

I have had a look at the historical charts, going back to 1974:
Silver went up from 1.4 to 19.5, that is a 14 times increase.
Gold went up from 56 to 1,510, that is a 27 times increase.

What you are talking about goes against all historical data and, yes, I've heard a fair few theories about how the market is manipulated and Silver will explode one day, but let's be clear, this is a gamble, and if you want to gamble with your money, please, do so, I shall not be the one to tell you otherwise.

Regardless, even if Gold and Silver went up at the very same rate, I was merely challenging the idea that Silver is better to start, it could be true from a psychological perspective, however, from the perspective of wealth creation, the same amount spent in Gold gives you more value compared to buying Silver, it just looks less.

The question for new starters at this point is, do you want value or volume? This is it

For reference:

https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/gold-price//gold-price-history/
https://www.bullionbypost.co.uk/silver-price/silver-price-history/

[MikeB]

Great topic. These are my reasons why i would personally pay the premiums for silver.

1) being new to metals, its great to get your hands on a lot of coins. It keeps you motivated to keep stacking

2) SHTF scenario silver would be used for barter as opposed to gold

3) potential bigger upside for silver, given the gold/silver ratio and its utility in industry

4) as others mentioned, could always swap silver for gold when ratio is lower

5) Its Beautiful!

i think its fair enough to be mainly into gold, but i think silver still has its place 

This is why i think this hobby/investment/community is so interesting. There are so many different reasons why people opt for precious metals

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by MikeB

[Monsmoy]

9 minutes ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

I have had a look at the historical charts, going back to 1974:
Silver went up from 1.4 to 19.5, that is a 14 times increase.
Gold went up from 56 to 1,510, that is a 27 times increase.

There will be many on this Forum with a far greater historical knowledge than I, but do the historical charts reflect the respective increases happening in unison, or staggered?  If the latter, and we are talking about actively turning small amounts into greater wealth rather than passive wealth generation, then there is opportunity to play the differential.  You need at least two commodities to trade in order to execute such a strategy, which of course could be anything: copper, tin, platinum, equities, cars... The surge in buying Ag in the last 48hrs may be said to reflect its popularity for this activity.  Perhaps the fingers crossed approach that gold:silver ratio realigning with a closer margin is a gamble, but I'd say it is a realistic possibility, a second opportunity, and with better odds than Noble Yeats!

[ArgentSmith]

Gold is still relatively expensive compared to Silver IMO and premiums on Silver often port when selling directly to a retail buyer.

PM investing is more nuanced than simply "Gold Doesn't attract VAT" As an example my Rhodium purchases I made at below £1k per ounce proved the best PM investment I ever made despite the VAT and crazy spreads. Similarly Palladium at aprox £180 per ounce although spreads are tighter.

Having said that if you are trading only with a bullion dealer spreads are/tend to be much tighter on Gold.

I could be wrong but I expect the next silver spike takes the GS ratio close to 40 or less.  If thats the case don't sweat the VAT

 

[ady]

42 minutes ago, LemmyMcGregor said:

The question for new starters at this point is, do you want value or volume?

If I wanted a volume investment I would go  for Helium, this element is like Silver in that it is very limited and because how it has been valued has been wasted. The two main metals we discuss here could easily flip in value when you look at how platinum and palladium have acted and the true value to society. Silver has been in the sights of the elite for centuries as a commoners true exchange of value.

[SilverPlatinum]

No other metal on earth can match ❤️Silver❤️ in these properties:

--- Silver conducts heat better than any other element.
--- Silver conducts electricity better than any other element.
--- Silver is the most reflective metal on earth.
--- Silver has antimicrobial properties, so it kills bacteria quickly, this is why they used to gift silver spoons to babies (to keep their teeth healthy). Copper kills bacteria too but at much slower speed than Silver.
--- Silver tarnish and produce beautiful colorful rainbow patina (which no other metal can match).

P.S. During ancient times, silver was more valuable than gold primarily because it was more difficult to find in its natural state as well as to extract from its ores.

I LOVE ❤️SILVER❤️.....

 

[FourNinesFine]

3 minutes ago, SilverPlatinum said:

No other metal on earth can match ❤️Silver❤️ in these properties:

--- Silver conducts heat better than any other element.
--- Silver conducts electricity better than any other element.
--- Silver is the most reflective metal on earth.
--- Silver has antimicrobial properties, so it kills bacteria quickly, this is why they used to gift silver spoons to babies (to keep their teeth healthy). Copper kills bacteria too but at much slower speed than Silver.
--- Silver tarnish and produce beautiful colorful rainbow patina (which no other metal can match).

P.S. During ancient times, silver was more valuable than gold primarily because it was more difficult to find in its natural state as well as to extract from its ores.

I LOVE ❤️SILVER❤️.....

 

It also kills werewolves and cybermen. But your list is better! 

[GoldDabbler]

I like the saying 'Never put your eggs in one basket' so I'm collecting silver in low denominations as well as gold.

I might be able to trade in silver for wares and services one day if the banking system collapses as pointed out in other posts. And I'm not giving a gold sovereign for a tin of beans and sausage  

You never know how things will turn out these days what with Putin carrying around his nuclear briefcase wherever he goes.

[motorbikez]

@LemmyMcGregor Here's a thought for you don't over think things. Just buy what you like.

[FourNinesFine]

1 hour ago, GoldDabbler said:

I might be able to trade in silver for wares and services one day if the banking system collapses as pointed out in other posts. And I'm not giving a gold sovereign for a tin of beans and sausage  

 

Indeeed. You'd at last need toast as well.

[Paul]

I'm certainly more emotionally in love with my gold over my silver. Despite being a silver bug starting

Bulk and size of a monster silver stack is also not considered when starting out. You can't escape from dodge with x3000 Oz silver easily in your backpack, in fact it's close to an actual ton in weight

Yet the right graded gold numismatics you could have a few hundred K worth of fiat value in plastic coffins floating about in your jeans pockets and still be able to run 

[MetalMandible]

Silver = speculation

Gold = insurance

They should both have their respective place in a diversified portfolio.