Gold & Silver Education Center

Most people understand that green energy applications are gaining market share around the world and that trend is expected to grow moving forward. Proponents of silver are starting to think in terms of its use in these future energy applications perhaps making it a key to the future . In that regard, they think of silver in the future somewhat like we have thought of oil in the past. Below are some excerpts from this article on FxStreet.com - The Role of Silver in America's Drive Towards Energy Independence .   "Solar panels, solar water heaters, more powerful batteries, wind farms, wave machines, and electric vehicles, have all altered the landscape of energy supply forever. In fact, in 2019, U.S. annual energy consumption from renewable sources exceeded coal consumption for the first time since before 1885 by .2 quadrillion thermal unit, according to the EIA.  This trend is expected to continue as new policies and systems are put in place to support renewables. The Fede...

Anyone who has interest in silver and especially silver coins knows the history of the Morgan and Peace silver dollars minted in the US until the 1920's (Morgans) and 1930's (Peace).  As Judy Shelton noted in her speech given at the Thomas Jefferson Library , a lot of thought was put into how the US dollar should originally be defined. Here is one excerpt from her speech: " Based on Jefferson’s recommendations as laid out here…the Coinage Act of 1792 would define America’s dollar in terms of precise weights: 371.25 grains of pure silver or 24.75 grains of pure gold. The idea being: Precision, dependability, transparency…whether in establishing the standard of weights and measures for a nation, or for establishing its monetary standard, its money unit – will yield very positive social, political, economic and scientific results. Jefferson believed that reliable, well-defined standards would empower citizens to make responsible decisions for themselves and for the nation. An...

Demand for US bullion silver eagles is very high in 2021 for several reasons. Silver is in high demand by itself and the US is also changing the design on the reverse side of the US silver eagle in 2021 creating added demand from coin collectors who want both versions of the silver eagle that will be minted this year. Meanwhile, the US Mint is struggling with its ability to supply the coins for various reasons. For one thing the Mint is trying to change the silver eagle design in mid year 2021 . During the transition from the old reverse design to the new design, no coins at all will be produced for some period of time during this year. On top of that problem, this article appearing in the Numismatic News in March states that conflicting US regulations are also creating an obstacle for the Mint. This article says US law prevents the US Mint from paying more than the world spot market price to acquire silver.  All this combined is creating a perfect storm in the bullion silver eagl...

Information on silver demand or supply is always useful. Recently, the CME group produced this article suggesting that while demand drivers are of course important, it's also important to look at how the supply side in gold and silver may impact prices.  Below I have listed the key bullet points from the article. The article notes that since 2016 silver supply has been in a decline. We know that in 2020 mining supply was impacted from shut downs related to the COVID pandemic. So many precious metals observers will be interested to see what mine supply does in 2021. Will it continue to decline or bounce back up some? Mining output is a significant driver of changes in gold and silver prices Gold mining output appears to have a major influence on both gold and silver prices Silver mining output appears to have a somewhat weaker influence on gold and silver prices When precious metals prices rise, jewelry buyers get priced out of gold but can still afford silver Gold and silver are e...

In 2021 we have seen a new surge of interest in silver from younger investors. This interest continues to grow and some may wonder what is prompting it. In the YouTube interview below, a young investor (the Happy Hawaiian from Reddit Wallstreetbets) explains what drew his attention to silver. For one thing, he says when you look at the investment options available, silver appears to be the most undervalued asset around. Below you can listen to the full interview and further below is a brief intro to the interview. Link to interview on Palisades Radio on YouTube ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Reddit forum poster known as the Happy Hawaiian has gained quite a bit of notoriety for his extensive due diligence posts on silver on the Wallstreetbets forum. In the interview posted above, he provides a detailed explanation of how silver attracted his attention as an investor and several reasons why he thinks silver...

Silver has been known to have anti bacterial properties for some time. The use of silver in medicine is another promising area of growth heading into the future. The Silver Institute has brief summary you can find here on some medicinal uses for silver. They also have a more detailed dive into the topic called Silver in Medicine - Past, Present. and Future .  Here is an excerpt: "But what of the future?  Silver continues to be the subject of intense R&D efforts, particularly with  respect  to  limiting  and  preventing  infection.  As mentioned  above,  infections  associated  with  implantable  medical  devices  adversely  affect  patient  health  and  quality  of  life,  and  the  overall healthcare costs. The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has made the...

The general consensus I have seen following the gold and silver markets is that historically these markets have appealed mostly to the Boomer generation and most people under 50 (or for sure under 40) did not really care about gold and silver too much. That seems logical. Most people under 50 have never lived under a monetary system based on gold or silver. They may know that some old US coins ( pre 1965 ) were made with silver, but it is likely they have never gotten one in change in their entire lives. The rise of technology over the last 30-40 years means that most under 50 know a lot more about cell phones, tablets, and perhaps Bitcoin than they do about gold and silver. They have lived a lifetime so far without that mattering too much. It just seemed like gold and silver are something the old folks may care about, but why would anyone under 50? It's been a fair question for the younger crowd to ask. In this post I will offer three reasons why they should care and (in some case...

                                                            Ivan on Kitco News (Youtube image) The Wall Street Silver subgroup on Reddit burst on the scene in late January 2021. Wallstreetbets on Reddit had made media headlines with its short squeeze play on Gamestop. Seemingly, out of that effort emerged the idea that the silver market was also set up for a potential short squeeze. Ivan Bayouhki, a member of the Wallstreetbets group, emerged as a leader for the new r/Wallstreetsilver sub group on Reddit. Ivan kindly agreed to take time to do a Q&A style interview to discuss the mission and goals for Wall Street Silver over the long term. While the Wallstreetbets group tends to focus on shorter term investment goals related to specific stocks like Gamestop, Ivan sees Wall Street Silver as a potential long term movement for him now. Be...

If you have started looking around for 2021 silver eagles, you may have seen "emergency" silver eagles advertised for sale. The obvious question that may arise is - What in the world is an "emergency" silver eagle? Other questions would likely follow such as - What makes them different from regular silver eagles? Also - Do I want an emergency silver eagle? In this article, we will explore the world of "emergency" silver eagles. The first thing to understand is that emergency silver eagles are exactly the same coin as the standard regular bullion silver eagle produced by the US Mint at its West Point facility each year. There is no visible difference between the regular bullion coins and the emergency coins. The coins you may see marketed as emergency silver eagles were just minted at other facilities than the West Point Mint facility. In most years, all bullion silver eagles are made at the West Point facility. In some years, when there is more demand for ...

What is real Silver Demand? If you are just now starting to look into precious metals and silver in particular, one of the first things you will want to know about is the demand for silver. As with anything, we all know that when the demand for any given item exceeds its available supply, it puts upward pressure on the price. But long time silver observers have been frustrated time and time again as it sometimes seems like silver is the biggest exception to this fundamental economic principle. The last few weeks are just another example. Reports come in from seemingly everywhere that demand for silver is through the roof. Dealers report difficulty maintaining inventory to sell. People on the Reddit Wall Street Silver forum daily report huge silver buying complete with photos and videos to document the purchases. All this and yet the silver price reported daily has not moved significantly higher after one short term pop up in February. What causes this phenomenon? I think the key is ...