[coldstart]

Silver is an industrial metal. It was used in the photographic process, dentistry, silverware (cutlery), disinfectants and coins. It no longer is used in the mainstream for any of the above uses. It still gets used for those uses, just not to even remotely the same degree.

Silver's value as a collectible metal is substantially less than gold, which is heavily prized by people from India and to a lesser degree, China. At one point gold was the monetary standard and later the U.S. dollar was backed by gold.

Long term, silver's value is questionable as an investment commodity unless:

(a) there becomes a new specific use for silver; or

(b) a big investor makes a play for a huge portion of the market (like the Hunt brothers in the 1970s-1980s).

Personally, I would not buy either gold or silver at current market prices.

If you wanted to play the commodities, oil at $78/barrel with the Iranian sanctions scheduled to start on July 1st sounds more promising. It has the potential to hit $120/barrel (any disruption on the Straits of Hormuz) with a downside of $65/barrel (major economic collapse).

Disclaimer: I own minimal gold, silver or oil (no puts or calls either) and am not offering financial or investment advice. Plese consult your financial advisor prior to investing.