Are gold and silver warning us of a new stage in the financial crisis?

Silver is more expensive compared to gold than at any point since 1984. So is silver finally 'shooting for the moon'? Or is this move warning of a new phase in the financial crisis? Dominic Frisby investigates.

The earth's crust contains something like 0.08ppm (parts per million) silver. There is, on the other hand, just 0.004ppm gold. In other words silver is about 20 times more abundant in the earth's crust than gold.

The historical monetary ratios between the two metals pretty much reflected this. It varies according to time and place, but on average it seems roughly 16-18 silver coins were exchangeable for a gold coin of the same weight wherever or whenever you were.

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