Gold is a rare and precious metal that has been valued for centuries. It is estimated that all the gold that has been mined throughout history and has not yet been mined can fit in just over three Olympic swimming pools, totaling 244,000 metric tons. Gold is more valuable than silver because it is available in much smaller quantities and has a unique range of beautiful colors. The atoms in gold are heavier than those of silver and other metals, which allows some of the light to be absorbed by gold.
This attribute, combined with its scarcity, makes gold more expensive than silver. Gold can be polished and textured in multiple ways to capture light and attention, but there is no metal like gold. Platinum is also more expensive to buy due to its high level of scarcity. Gold prices remain relatively stable as a long-term investment, and its value increases even without inflation due to growing demand.
Much of the silver and gold discovered are alloyed with other metals, which generally requires the separation of the two metals to produce pure silver or pure gold. The use of gold and silver in jewelry helps to increase prices, more in the case of gold than in the case of silver. Gold and silver have similar boom-and-bust cycles, but there are some key differences to consider when deciding whether to invest in gold or silver. Not only is gold worth much more per ounce than silver, it is also the denser of the two metals, making a specific volume of gold worth much more than an equal volume of silver.
Gold will always have value in both difficult and good times, as it is the metal we'll turn to when other forms of currency don't work. Silver offers an investment opportunity with prices that will rise even without inflation due to its broad ratio with gold.
