Silver is a metal in ever-increasing demand, driven by both its industrial use and its appeal as a safe-haven asset. It is used in the medical, electronics and energy sectors, and plays a key role in technological innovation and the energy transition. But beyond these uses, silver is becoming an increasingly attractive investment for investors. 

How is this metal, which is more accessible to investors than gold, set to become a leading metal? In this article, we explore the advantages of silver as an investment for the future, driven by growing demand and a shortage of production.  

ARTICLE SUMMARY : 

• Silver: a more accessible investment than gold
• The benefits of silver in our daily lives
• Silver, a safe-haven metal with a solid outlook
• Understanding how the silver market works
• The best silver investment coins

Silver: a more accessible investment than gold 

Unlike gold, often seen as an asset reserved for the very wealthy, silver is a precious metal that is much more accessible. It allows investors to diversify their assets without committing large sums of money. What's more, silver shares certain fundamental properties with gold: it is a tangible asset, protected against inflation and currency devaluation. In an uncertain economic climate, silver is a strategic alternative for those seeking to protect their capital. 

Indeed, the volatility of the financial markets and the increase in public debt are prompting many investors to turn to precious metals. While gold remains an essential safe-haven asset, silver has greater growth potential because of its dual role as an industrial and investment metal. 

Source: Gold to Silver Ratio - 100 Year Historical Chart | MacroTrends 

The chart above shows the ratio between the price of gold and the price of silver. An increase in this ratio means that gold is appreciating faster than silver, and vice versa. While an ounce of gold was worth 60 ounces of silver in the early 2000s, an ounce of gold is now worth over 90 ounces of silver! Gold has therefore appreciated by 50% against silver in two decades. But this trend could be reversed in favour of silver in the next few years. 

The advantages of silver in our daily lives 

So why might silver appreciate more than gold? In recent years, a number of structural changes have transformed the silver market. In the space of a decade, silver has quite simply become indispensable in our daily lives! 

Indeed, we are seeing a growing demand for silver. In fact, silver is widely used in the electronics industry. Silver is present in many essential components, such as electrical contacts, printed circuits and connectors. In smartphones, computers and other electronic devices, silver is used to provide efficient transmission of electrical signals. It is highly likely that artificial intelligence will significantly boost demand for silver in electronics over the next few years.  

Silver is therefore at the heart of technological growth, but not only that. In the medical sector, silver's antibacterial properties are exploited to manufacture surgical instruments, dressings and medical devices. Silver is also used in the manufacture of reflective coatings for high-precision mirrors and in certain water purification applications, thanks to its antimicrobial properties. Silver is also used in infrastructure and the automotive industry. New generations of electric vehicles and 5G infrastructures require more silver for sensors, batteries and electronic components.  

But despite the already vast applications of silver, one of the most promising applications of silver is in the field of photovoltaics. Silver is used as a raw material in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels. In 2024, silver demand for photovoltaic panels will account for almost 20% of total market demand, compared with less than 6% in 2015. This proportion underlines the growing importance of silver in this rapidly expanding sector. 

Silver, a safe-haven metal with a solid outlook 

In addition to its accessibility, silver offers protection against economic and monetary crises. It has historically served as a safe haven in times of turbulence, and this trend seems to be growing stronger as economic uncertainty increases. What's more, while gold is often held by central banks and major institutions, silver remains a widely accessible asset for individual investors. For example, a 1kg ingot of silver is close to a thousand euros, while collector coins are often available for a few dozen euros.  

In the years ahead, the development of the silver market will depend on several factors: growth in industrial demand, monetary policies and developments on the financial markets. If central banks pursue a policy of high interest rates, this could temporarily curb the rise in silver prices. On the other hand, a fall in interest rates could lead to a significant rebound in the price of the grey metal.  

Silver, like gold, is therefore a safe haven in times of economic uncertainty and inflation. With the rise in global public debt and the instability of fiat currencies, many investors are turning to silver as a complement to gold to protect their wealth. Despite the fall in demand for silver for investment purposes in 2022 and 2023 (-28%), it is likely that the growing popularity of gold will also have an impact on silver.  

Because of its dual industrial and investment nature, there are many factors influencing the price of silver: 

• Periods of economic recovery generally favour silver over gold. A reduction in interest rates can therefore have a boosting effect on the silver price.  
• Periods of economic crisis often favour the rise in the price of gold, because silver can be penalised by a decline in industrial demand.   
• However, silver remains a physical asset that offers protection against major fluctuations in the financial markets. 

Understand how the silver market works

Source: SILVER SUPPLY & DEMAND | The Silver Institute 

The silver market is unlike any other. Silver is halfway between a precious metal and an industrial metal. What's more, silver is not a metal whose production is specific: most of the silver mined in the world comes from the extraction of other metals such as gold, aluminium, zinc, etc. Since the end of the twentieth century, the growing number of metals mined has made silver ‘more abundant’. However, this phenomenon seems to be coming to an end, and silver production has become too difficult.  

In particular, around 80% of silver supply comes from mining production, with the remainder coming from recycling. On the demand side, demand has increased by almost 20% over the last 10 years. In detail, industrial demand has risen from 457 million ounces in 2015 to almost 710 million ounces in 2024. We are therefore witnessing a surge in silver as an industrial metal, and also as a precious metal.  

The silver market is therefore subject to two opposing phenomena: on the one hand, the levelling off of mining production for structural reasons, and on the other, strong growth in demand, driven in particular by technology. In 2024, the silver market is expected to record a production deficit of 265 million ounces, up 87% year-on-year! The growing tension on the silver market increases the likelihood of a bullish shock to the silver price.  

The best silver investment coins 

The diversity of investment solutions, from coins to bullion, also provides a diversification and liquidity advantage for investors.  

For investors looking to take advantage of silver's potential, bullion coins are an excellent option. They offer greater liquidity than bullion and allow investors to invest gradually. In this way, silver coins come closest to the profile of an individual investor looking to diversify his assets. The best investment coins include :  

• MAPLE LEAF 1 ONCE SILVER: One of the most popular coins minted by the Royal Canadian Mint. 
• PHILARMONIC 1 IN SILVER: An Austrian coin renowned for its quality and elegant design. 
• NUGGET 1 ONCE SILVER: produced by Australia, this coin is highly prized by investors and collectors. 
• SILVER EAGLE 1 ONCE ARGENT: The benchmark in the United States, issued by the US Mint. 
• KRUGERRAND 1 ONCE SILVER: Silver version of the famous South African coin. 
• 50 FRANCS HERCULE 1974 - 1980: A French coin with a historic design that appeals to investors and numismatists alike. 
• 5 FRANCS SEMEUSE 1959-1969: An emblematic silver coin that is an interesting option for diversifying your portfolio. 

Finally, bullion also offers a good opportunity to invest more widely in silver. The limited supply of ‘paper silver’ financial products makes investing in silver bullion a rather attractive option. However, since silver is bulkier than gold, silver storage can become more restrictive with large quantities invested. Each investor must therefore tailor his investments to his financial profile (risk diversification across several assets, investment period, etc.) and to his financial and storage capacity.   

Conclusion 

The nature of the silver market is changing, and it is set to become a major financial asset over the next few years. Indeed, silver is positioning itself as an investment of the future, offering both a safe-haven role and growth potential linked to its industrial use. Accessible and sought-after, it represents a unique opportunity for investors wishing to diversify their portfolios and protect themselves against financial instability.  

Whether in the form of bullion coins or financial assets, silver is emerging as a strategic choice in a rapidly changing world. As demand continues to grow and supply struggles to keep pace, silver could well be one of the best-performing metals of the decades to come. Every year, demand for the grey metal has grown by around 2% over the past 10 years. But supply, for its part, is stagnating and failing to meet the growing production deficit. A major reason for this misalignment lies in the fact that silver is a ‘secondary metal’, i.e. mined as a by-product of the extraction of other metals.  

The combination of rising demand and limited supply could lead to a significant appreciation in its value over the next few decades.