The price of silver just set another record high, breaking not only $55 but pushing past $56 an ounce to close Friday evening at $56.33, an increase of $3.09 or 5.8 percent. That capped off an unprecedented week in which silver was up 13 percent.
To look at it from a prepping standpoint, these prices mean a roll of junk silver dimes you bought hoping they would have some value for barter in a post-SHTF world now has more than $200 worth of silver in it. In other words, a silver dime is worth almost 41 times its original 10 cents. A roll of quarters has almost $410 of silver in it.
Gold also performed well, although it is still below its record high. Gold climbed 1.5 percent or $62.60 an ounce to close at $4,218.40.
What Does It All Mean?
The rise in precious metals can be driven by many things: fear of inflation, a weakening dollar, concerns about war, distrust in the government, worries about the financial system, etc. People will also attribute the rise in silver to increased demand for everything from solar power to cell phones and drones, devices that require silver. In the end, investors buy gold and silver for the same reason preppers do: because they fear what might happen in the future and want to be prepared.
Perhaps the largest concern is that the U.S. keeps borrowing money it cannot afford to pay back. Interest on the $38 trillion federal debt is approaching $1 trillion a year. Much of the developed world is in a similar position, owing more than it can afford to pay back.
A student of history would recognize that similar debt levels have often been addressed in the past via default and collapse, inflation and hyperinflation, or war. All good reasons to prep.
Please keep in mind that I am not a financial advisor and this post is not financial advice.
