My name is Shawn Ozbun, and our goal is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the world of Gold and Silver by providing you with current news and precious metals pricing.
The Silvertowne Vault Cast is brought to you by www.Silvertowne.com
Welcome back to the SilverTowne Vault Cast and I have what I believe a very interesting and informative episode lined up for you today. We are going to be talking about the history of silver and my hope is that after this episode you will understand why I think owning silver is very important and beneficial to your financial future. I’m very excited to get into this information with you.
Before I go over todays metal prices and get into the history of silver I want to remind you that you can subscribe to the SilverTowne Vault Cast on YouTube, iTunes and even from your Android smart phone device. I want to also ask you to please take the time to leave me some feedback and comments. You can also reach out to me on these comments and let me know what you think, you can make suggestions on topics you would like to hear covered or just simply ask me a question. So please go to our YouTube page which you can find at youtube.com/silvertownelp. I would love to hear from you and that comment section is a great place for us to engage and share thoughts on silver and gold.
Now lets go ahead and get into today's precious metals pricing!
Gold - $1724.73 up $3.73
Silver - $32.19 up .13 cents
Platinum - 1615.20 up $1.70
Palladium - $622.00 Up $3.49
Financial News:
Silver Historical Background
Silver has attracted man’s fascination for many thousands of years. Ancient civilizations found silver deposits plentiful on or near the earth’s surface. Relics of these civilizations, include jewelry, religious artifacts, and food vessels formed from the durable, malleable metal. This metal took on near mystical qualities in marking important historical milestones throughout the ages, and served as a medium of exchange.
The Mesopotamian merchants were doing just that as early as 700 BC.
In 1792, silver assumed a key role in the United States monetary system when Congress based the currency on the silver dollar, and its fixed relationship to gold. Silver was used for the nation’s coinage until its use was discontinued in 1965. The dawn of the 20th century marked an important economic function for silver, that of an industrial raw material.
Today, silver is sought as a valuable and practical industrial commodity, as well as an appealing investment precious metal. Many countries now issue silver bullion coins, among them the Unites States, Canada and Mexico. Private issue silver bullion is also available from select private mints.
Although silver is relatively scarce, it is the most plentiful and least expensive of the precious metals. The largest silver producing countries are Mexico, Peru, the United States, Australia and Chile. Sources of silver include; silver mined directly, silver mined as a by-product of gold, copper, lead and zinc mining, and silver extracted from recycled materials, primarily used photographic materials. Today, silver bullion stocks make up a significant component of silver supply.
The American Eagle Bullion program was launched in 1986 with the sale of gold and silver bullion coins. Platinum was added to the American Eagle Bullion family in 1997. A bullion coin is a coin that is valued by its weight in a specific precious metal. Read More...
I think its important to note that the article points out that silver is scarce. Now I've mentioned that before here on the vault cast and i think that its a fact most people are not aware of. As a matter of fact, there is more gold above ground in the world then silver. According to dnaindia.com the world actually has 5 times more gold then silver.
Listen to these facts from goldsilver.com
There is currently less investment-grade silver available on Earth for investors to buy than there is gold.
Today, there is only enough investment-grade silver on Earth for every person to have 1/14th of an ounce.
Silver is a 'miracle metal'. It is second only to oil as the world's most useful commodity.
Aside from being money, silver has thousands of essential industrial uses. Silver is the most electrically conductive, thermally conductive, and reflective metal on the planet that has no known substitutes
For the past 30 years the world has used up more silver than has been mined, and today silver inventories are near all time record low levels.
Why am i pointing this out? I’m pointing this out because silver is scarce and is more rare then gold. Silver you can buy right now for a less then $35 an ounce. Gold is 1700+ an ounce. Which is easier to afford? which one is more rare? Silver is not only rare and more affordable right now. If you haven't gotten your hand on some silver yet then I would like to encourage you to contact SilverTowne today.
Timeline: A brief history of silver
3000 BC: A concentrated effort to mine silver began.
550 BC: First silver coins were minted in the eastern Mediterranean.
269 BC: The Roman Empire adopted silver as part of its standard coinage and it was used throughout the trading world.
206 BC-220 AD: During the Han Dynasty, silver coin was included in the official currencies of China, but it was limited to use by the royal family only.
8th Century: Silver mining was temporarily halted by the Moorish conquest of Spain. Spain dominated silver mine production in the first 1,000 years AD.
708: Silver was coined for the first time in Japan under the reign of Emperor Genmyo. But it was soon abandoned in favor of copper because of meager production levels.
750-1200: Several major silver mine discoveries occurred in Central Europe
1492: Columbus' discovery of the New World was a significant milestone that led to the founding of major mines in Mexico, Bolivia and Peru that were to account for over 85 percent of global silver production and trade from 1500 to 1800.
1792: Alexander Hamilton, then U.S. Treasury, proposed the adoption of a gold and silver-based monetary system.
Oct 15, 1794: The first official U.S. silver dollar was minted, in accordance to the Coinage Act of 1792.
1862: The U.S. Congress passed a law authorizing paper "greenbacks" as legal tender for all public and private debts, except duties. However, this legal bind did not void specific provisions in contracts that demand gold/silver payment.
1934: In accordance to the Silver Purchase Act of 1934, U.S. President Roosevelt issued executive order No. 6814 to confiscate and nationalize silver, and outlawing private ownership of quantities more than 500 troy ounces.
1946: The Silver Purchase Act of 1946 rendered the U.S. government the biggest buyer of silver in the world. The Act also bound the government to sell at a fixed price.
1965: The U.S. government eliminated silver from quarters and dimes, and half dollars were reduced to 40 percent silver.
1973: The Hunt Brothers, sons of the late Texan oil tycoon Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr, began cornering the silver market.
Jan 18, 1980: Silver hit an all-time high just below $50 an ounce, when gold prices also rose dramatically in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Silver prices dipped to about $15 an ounce by the end of that year.
1997: In 1997 and 1998 Warren Buffet bought about 130 million ounces of silver.
2010: Spot silver rose to successive 30-year highs, and prices gained more than 80 percent, outperforming gold.
April 25, 2011: Spot silver rose to $48.84 an ounce and U.S. silver futures to $49.82, highest since 1980.
Read More...
So hear is the point of all this. Silver has been used and valued as real money for at least 5 thousand years according to the timelines I just read to you. If it has always been used and valued, unlike all the fiat currency in the history of the world which have always failed, then don't you think that odds are that the current fiat currencies of the world will eventually fail? I would say odds are most defiantly in the silvers favor. According to history anyways and let’s not forget that the US fiat currency is only 40 years old which is much longer then most fiat currencies have ever lasted. Now I know the dollar has been round for much longer then 40 years but it use to be backed by gold. Now it’s not backed by anything.
Thanks for listening to the Silvertowne vault cast. You can find our show on YouTube and I would love it if you would subscribe and as always our show can also be found in the iTunes store.
For the best source for acquiring gold and silver please contact Silvertowne at 1-877-477- coin, that’s 1-877-477-2646 or you can visit us at www.silvertowne.com. Silvertowne has been a trusted precious metals and numismatics dealer since 1949.
One of the most common ways to invest in silver is with silver ingot . They are affordable, portable and easy to stack and store. Popular SilverTowne Trademark Silver Bars, featuring a classic prospector and his donkey, are guaranteed .999 fine silver and available in 1, 5 and 10 ounce sizes and SilverTowne is currently offering free shipping for these ingots. Contact Silvertowne today.
[Disclaimer] Shawn Ozbun is not a licensed financial adviser, there is risk associated with all investment including gold and silver. You should seek advise from a licensed financial expert before making a purchase.
