- August 10, 2017
- Category: Silver
Silver is the second most popular investment metal in the world (after gold). For investors, silver often serves as a source of diversification or easy entry into tangible assets. We reviewed statements about silver or silver investing from some of the most famous economists, and there is certainly a common theme: silver holds incredible potential and, as a medium of exchange, is vastly superior to fiat paper.
James Grant
James “Jim” Grant, best known for his widely distributed and anticipated Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, believes that silver rivals gold as the best hedge against monetary instability. “Gold is a better monetary asset than silver, but silver has better supply-and-demand characteristics than gold. Since the Silver Institute began keeping track in 1990, silver consumption has annually outpaced silver production, and not by a little,” said Grant.
Grant also sees silver going much, much higher. Writing in an article entitled “The Case for Silver,” Grant concluded with “In 1980, in an epic miscalculation by the Hunt brothers, the price of silver peaked at $49 an ounce. I am counting on the serial epic miscalculations of the Fed and the Treasury to push the price, if not back to $49, at least closer to it.”
Milton Friedman
Perhaps the most famous American economist of all time, Milton Friedman was neither the strongest friend of metals nor the most consistent. Friedman took a historical review of silver and thought that its value was obvious. “The major monetary metal in history is silver, not gold,” Friedman said.
While not an advocate for returning to a hard-money standard, Friedman understands that silver is much more practical than gold or other precious metals (at least in terms of money usage).
David Morgan
Economist David Morgan, owner of The Morgan Report website and author of The Silver Manifesto, is one of the best-known silver advocates. He is well-known for his concern about the state of monetary policy, stating that “we understand that all fiat systems have always failed.” Morgan takes to heart the long-game approach to silver investing. He writes “Forget about the current price of silver…it’s only a matter of time before the debt and derivative markets crash, catapulting precious metals prices exponentially higher…The spillover into silver will be phenomenal.”
Finally, compared to other precious metals, Morgan said “If you look at that value proposition again, it’s screaming at listeners right now. Silver—of all the four precious metals, and I love them all—has the absolute best value proposition.”
Murray Rothbard
“It is a great boon that gold and silver are scarce and are costly to increase in supply.” —Murray Rothbard, “Taking Money Back,” 1995
Murray N. Rothbard, one of the most influential American economists of the 20th century, was a strong proponent of hard-money standards (e.g. the historical U.S. gold standard or the U.K. sterling silver standard). While many economists have, over time, seen the value in holding or transacting in gold or silver, none have been as friendly to precious metals or as antagonistic to the inflationary tendencies of the Federal Reserve.
Indeed, Rothbard’s writings helped lay the theoretical and practical foundation for today’s precious metals investing** (as well as other hedges against inflation, such as foreign currencies and real estate).
Rothbard, commenting on the borrow-and-spend path of the U.S. government, wrote, “I see a great future for gold and silver coins as the currency people may increasingly turn to when paper currencies begin to disintegrate.”
**While it cannot be held in a precious metals IRA, the Ludwig von Mises Institute offers a one-ounce silver coin bearing the likeness of Rothbard. It should be noted that this coin sells at a significant markup to other silver coins, such as the one-ounce American Eagle silver coin.
Karl Marx
Marx, the infamous author of The Communist Manifesto, is not the most likely advocate of silver or silver investing. Yet, Marx knew the value of silver in an economic sense, writing that “Although gold and silver are not by nature money, money is by nature gold and silver.”
How Investors Can Take Advantage of Silver
Specific silver bars and coins qualify for Self-Directed IRA inclusion, which means investors can protect their portfolio while taking advantage of substantial growth opportunity in silver today.
You can own real, physical silver bullion and store it in an IRA. It is quick, simple & secure and 100% tax free to transfer your current IRA or old 401k into silver backed IRA. American Bullion can discuss your options and help you every step of the way. Our #1 goal is to help you take control of your own finances – and we promise to be transparent, safe, and efficient in the process.
Although the information in this commentary has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, American Bullion does not guarantee its accuracy and such information may be incomplete or condensed. The opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. American Bullion will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be used to make buy or sell decisions for any type of precious metals.