While current silver prices have not shown the explosive growth that gold has enjoyed, we firmly believe that it’s an excellent long-term investment.

Silver has many benefits for the precious metals investor. It’s not only valued in its raw form as bullion but is used in millions of products that we take for granted, like consumer electronics.

Here are the top reasons to invest in silver.

You Get More Exposure For Your Money

One ounce of gold is far more than $1,000 at the time of writing (actually, around $1600). Silver, by contrast, is a little under $30 per ounce.

For an investment in gold to increase by 15 percent, the price would have to rise by nearly $200 per ounce; the same return in silver would only require a rise of around $3.50 per ounce.

The downside risk is also greater. If the current silver prices fall, it doesn’t take as long to lose money either.

Governments Do Not Hold Silver

Almost no governments hold reserves of silver. This means they have to resort to buying their required silver on the open market, like everybody else.

It certainly does not hurt demand for a product if world powers need to buy it too.

Silver is Undervalued vs Gold

A snapshot of prices of silver and gold in the past century would show times when silver and gold were much closer together than today.

At one point, one ounce of gold was worth about 15 ounces of silver; current silver prices mean it takes about 48 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold.

As the high price of gold prices out some smaller investors, they will seek other places to put their money. Once sentiment swings back towards silver, it will correct to closer to the historical average.

Silver is Needed for Industry

While gold is also used sparingly in high-end consumer goods, the mass market requires a lot of silver for literally millions of components in products we use every day.

Whatever device you are reading this article on has lots of silver components. Your cell phone could not operate without it. Silver is an essential element in batteries, which power almost every device we use. The world covets gold, but it cannot do without silver.

Silver Wastage

Apart from bullion and jewelry, much of the silver we use is scrapped, ending up in a landfill. This, along with dwindling stockpiles of silver around the world, and lower mining output, has combined to create a perfect storm of strong, growing demand and lower supply.

Estimates predict that the supply of silver in the world may be exhausted in just 25 years. Now is a great time to put yourself in the position of holding onto a scarce commodity.

Silver is Currency

Silver coins have formed the basis of commerce for millennia. Far more than gold, it’s silver that has driven the expansion of person-to-person trade.

Easy to move around and universally acceptable, silver has actual value, unlike the paper money your government can print at will.

It’s Time to Invest in Silver

Current silver prices are extremely attractive. The upside potential is huge. As a buy-and-hold precious metals investment, it’s hard to beat for an investor who finds it hard to justify the current gold price.