Why You Should Invest in Gold and Silver

If you’ve watched the news at all over the past year, you’ve heard about the massive spike in demand for precious metals. In fact, that may be exactly what brought you to this page. This means you’re probably wondering whether investing in gold and silver is a good move, right?

Fortunately, this is a simple question to answer. The fact is that precious metals have served as a store of value throughout human history. They’ve given people a powerful commerce tool while also protecting them from the threat of economic downturns.

Of course, you likely already knew about all of that. This guide dives deeper into why you should invest in gold and silver to secure your financial future. No one can guarantee that you’ll see massive returns on investment, but history proves these precious metals will always have value.

Reasons to Invest in Gold

Although there are many general benefits of investing in precious metals, it might be more helpful to review the individual advantages of buying gold or silver. While each has always held value, gold is the commodity that people most frequently view as a hedge against inflation.

In addition to that benefit, the following are all significant reasons to invest in gold:

• Becomes more valuable as the dollar weakens.
• Has universal value regardless of where you are in the world.
• Decreased new gold production has increased its value.
• Demand for gold continues to skyrocket, and this can keep prices rising.
• Takes up less space than other equally valued precious metals.
• Massive returns on investment have occurred in recent years.

Whether you’re investing in gold or silver, there are enormous opportunities. When choosing between the two, though, it’s difficult to deny how impressive the yellow metal has become. This makes buying gold bullion bars, coins, and other items stand out in the world of precious metals investing.

Reasons to Invest in Silver

When you consider investing in gold and silver, the advantages of the latter make it seem like an obvious choice. Of course, buying silver bullion has many of its own benefits. Once you understand these factors, the choice between precious metals won’t be as clear-cut:

• Heavily used in industry, so it can perform well in any economy.
• More affordable than other precious metals with similar profit opportunities.
• Stockpiles of silver are falling, so prices could sharply increase if a sudden need arises.
• Experts expect the world to reach peak silver production soon, and supply will slowly dry up after that.
• Historically, it has shown an ability to hedge against inflation just like gold.

These reasons help explain why the U.S. Mint recently could not keep up with demand for silver coins. When choosing between investing in gold and silver, the former may look more impressive on price charts, but silver can offer just as many opportunities for financial success.

Common Questions When Investing in Gold and Silver

When making any investment, it’s vital that you educate yourself as much as possible. Informed investors are the ones who excel in every marketplace, so knowledge really is power in the financial world. It’s impossible to know everything, but the following questions will get you close.

Is gold or silver a better investment? 

Whenever someone gets into precious metals investment, they invariably ask whether they should invest in gold or silver. After all, they are two separate commodities whose performances are not always in line with one another.

The simple answer is this: it depends. While gold is certainly worth more on the market, silver often experiences higher percentage growth. This also means the white metal is occasionally volatile, though, so it’s not always for the faint of heart.

If its price differentials concern you when investing in gold and silver, though, that’s something you can stop worrying about. While the yellow metal may be far more expensive, you can actually buy gold bullion by the gram. This means anyone can invest.

What is a gold or silver IRA?

While most individual retirement accounts (IRAs) hold paper assets for the benefit of account holders, precious metals IRAs own physical bullion. They’re typically self-directed and can only contain coins and bars approved by the IRS. These accounts can hold four metals:

• Gold
• Silver
• Platinum
• Palladium

Unfortunately, the costs of maintaining the IRA and other market factors mean these accounts won’t always track the price of the metals. Some people have also become victims of scams when investing in gold and silver as part of shady individual retirement account companies.

Should I invest in paper gold or silver ETFs?

Gold and silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are another alternative method for investing in precious metals. Rather than owning bullion yourself, you have partial ownership of a fund that’s supposed to track the price of its underlying metal.

These funds can hold physical bullion, mining stocks, derivatives, and other assets linked to gold and silver. Unfortunately, you’re never actually the owner of the precious metals. Outside market factors and even management of the company can also affect their overall value.

Because of these issues, many people are hesitant to invest in “paper” gold or silver. The major benefit of ETFs is that you don’t have to store large amounts of bullion, but there are many reputable precious metal storage firms that can do this for you.

Are coins or bullion the better investment?

When you start investing in gold and silver, you’re going to encounter a variety of products. The two most common, though, are coins and bullion bars. If you’re stuck deciding between which of them to purchase, there are a few things to consider.

You may end up paying slightly more for coins due to their artistic appeal and collectibility, but in the end, this all comes down to individual preference.

Precious Metal Alternatives to Gold and Silver

Anyone researching information on investing in gold and silver has no doubt come across other precious metals offerings. Being an informed investor means knowing all your options, and that includes potential alternatives.

Any brilliant investor will also tell you that diversification is the name of the game. That’s why it wouldn’t hurt to consider buying the following precious metals to supplement your gold and silver reserves.

Investing in Platinum

Platinum may seem like an inferior investment vehicle to gold, but during 2008, its per-ounce price went higher than the yellow metal ever has before. So while investing in gold and silver may be the most popular option, it’s important not to forget the potential power of platinum.

While much of the metal gets earmarked for platinum bullion coins, jewelry, and decorations, it also has medical and industrial uses. Having a diverse array of uses is one of the most important factors for precious metals to keep their value. Platinum easily accomplishes this feat.

Investing in Palladium

If you come across palladium when kicking off your foray into investing in gold and silver, the price will occasionally shock you. That’s because the precious metal skyrocketed to nearly $3,000 per ounce in May 2021. This far exceeds anything we’ve seen gold do in the past.

There’s no guarantee that palladium bullion will remain profitable, but its demand continues to exceed supply. Thanks to its emissions-reduction properties, this will probably continue. Investing in gold and silver is a smart move, but it never hurts to throw some palladium in the mix.

You Can Start Investing in Gold and Silver Right Now!

Thanks to the availability of reputable gold dealers online, there are currently no hurdles in the way of those hoping to buy silver or gold. Armed with the knowledge you now have, you can start making informed investment decisions around precious metals.

While there are certainly other physical commodities you could purchase — such as platinum or palladium bullion — gold and silver have staying power. Economic and technological changes can affect all precious metal values, but history shows us that “the big dogs” are here to stay.

Visit our Precious Metals Bullion Page today to see all your options for investing in gold and silver. You’ll find a variety of coins, bullion bars, collectibles, and more. You can start building your financial future right now!