Silver often gets overshadowed by gold, but it deserves serious attention from anyone building a precious metals portfolio. What makes silver unique among the metals is its dual identity: it’s both a monetary metal with a long history as a store of value, and an industrial commodity used in electronics, solar panels, and a growing range of green-energy technologies.
One measure investors watch closely is the gold-to-silver ratio — how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. Historically this ratio has sat well below where it often trades today, and when the ratio runs high, some investors see it as a sign that silver is cheap relative to gold, with room to close the gap.
The industrial side of silver’s demand is a structural factor, not a passing trend. Solar panel manufacturing alone consumes a significant and growing share of global silver supply, and that demand doesn’t disappear when investment sentiment shifts — it’s tied directly to manufacturing output. At the same time, silver mine supply is relatively inelastic; opening new mines takes years, so supply can’t simply scale up to meet a sudden rise in demand.
For UK buyers, it’s worth knowing that — unlike gold Britannias — silver bullion is subject to VAT, which affects the total cost of buying versus the price you’ll get when selling. This is an important factor to understand before building a silver position, and it’s something our team talks through with every client.
Silver also tends to be more volatile than gold, moving further in both directions as sentiment shifts. For investors comfortable with that volatility, it can offer a lower entry point into precious metals with meaningful upside potential — and works well as a complement to a gold holding rather than a replacement for one.
IBV Gold stocks a range of silver coins and bars from respected mints, available to view at our London studio or order online with secure UK delivery.
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