According to Google Only about 11% to 15% of the general U.S. population owns physical gold or silver. However, if you look at dedicated "stackers" (people who actively and regularly accumulate physical bullion as a wealth preservation strategy), that number drops significantly, with casual and serious buyers making up a small minority of the total public. While a definitive, singular number fluctuates based on the year and the demographics surveyed, industry data reveals key insights into who is stacking: Precious Metals Ownership Breakdown Gold Ownership: Roughly 10.8% to 12% of Americans report owning physical gold. Silver Ownership: Silver is slightly more accessible and popular, with 11.6% to 14.7% of the population reporting ownership. Demographic Shifts: While older generations historically dominated, younger demographics—particularly Millennials and younger Gen Xers—now make up a massive segment of the active stacking community. Survey Trends: Surveys indicate that 38.6% of Americans aged 35–64 have purchased precious metals, with strong intent to continue adding to their stacks. Where Do Stackers Rank? Because precious metals are often accumulated over many years, the size of a person's stack varies wildly between casual collectors and dedicated stackers. Among those who actively stack: Holding 100 ounces of silver depending on spot prices) typically places an individual in the top 25% of stackers. Holding 400 to 500 ounces often puts an individual in the top 10%. Are you a stacker? What do you stack and what are your thoughts on stacking at todays prices?
500 TOZ silver X roughly $75/TOZ = $37,500. 500 TOZ is just under 35 lbs or just over 15.5 kg. sorry, I do not see that as a stacker, let alone top 10%. People are wound up buying pickups for $50,000 to $100,000! And that is a depreciating asset, not an investment… what stats did you see with gold?
Obviously your going to have way more stackers on the SILVER side for obvious reasons, price and affordability the main one most can afford $75 a month but few can afford $4,500.
Agreed and understood. However, gold can be acquired in much smaller denominations than a TOZ. Additionally, when I purchase any silver, the premiums are ridiculous. When I buy gold, even in the lower denoms, they have lower premium percentages than Silver. That is why I hold on a Silver investment or two to make a Gold investment. And, I paid a lower premium than a Silver investment. And, yes I do stack Silver. It is a lot easier toting $37,500 in 8.3 TOZ in gold (composing of small denoms of 1gram and above), than 35 POUNDS (15.5 Kg) of Silver. And, I don’t need desiccant. Hey, I git it. I am retired and on a very limited budget. I am trying to stretch the value of my investment. BTW, just saw where Goldman Sachs has uncovered that Central Banks have been purchasing Gold inventories at significantly higher levels than had been reported over the last 10 months. 70% more. They are dumping Treasuries, or buying much less. Interesting. Central Banks are the core drivers behind Gold’s rise, not jewelry, not industrial whims and manipulation. I wonder what they see…
It appears not many people stack PM's. Only a handful of people I know even have a single gold or silver bullion coin. So I think that's why these numbers pan out the way they do. The top 1% is where it gets crazy, it runs from about 5,000 TOZ (entry level) to basically infinity lol That's a very large gap.
I agree, silvers price can still fit in just about anyone's budget. Fractional gold is always an option but silvers price is more appealing to the masses. Gold has always been seen as expensive to most.
Agreed. I have seen some of these "rankings" also, and was curious what info you were seeing. If you move out of "middle-class", then it would be a ridiculous skewing of multimillionaire (100's of Millions) to billionaire holdings. Statistically, I would toss that out of the findings. For Gold, I watch if the Central Banks are still buying. It demonstrates if there is buoyancy in the market. And their focus is on asset substitution as well as their faith in Fiat (seems to be falling) Jewelry and Industrial Gold seems less of an influence. Silver seems more controlled and manipulated by industrial purchasers trying to control supply and supply costs for their industries or their nations' industries. I do not get excited about GSR, as Gold is recognized as a currency. Before the 70's Silver was a denomination PM of Gold. That relationship split in the 70's. Silver has now moved into an industrial commodity in my book. Therefore, I perceive GSR as more of a relic measurement. Yeah, folks still get excited with it, but I see it more as a down-market result vs. a real indicator in my book. Maybe I am wrong. My thoughts...
I agree, Silver premiums can get stupid and Gold is top dog in PM's. There seems to some sort of psychological barrier with Gold and people's belief that it's out of reach. Gold fractional pieces are definitely gaining steam though. Regarding the Central Banks Gold inventories yeah they are full of malarkey. They all own way more than declared and have been dumping paper assets and going physical. Also sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors (like ETFs), corporations, stablecoin issuers have been hording it. I think they know what we already know
While the International Monetary Fund does not officially recognize silver as an official reserve asset and focus primarily on Gold. I have noticed some pivoting towards silvers monetary and strategic value. The World has experienced a 6 year, consecutive mining deficit in silver which lead to the United States formally labeling it a strategic and critical mineral. A handful of central banks have started re-accumulating silver for their reserves, primarily as part of broader de-dollarization and resource-security strategies. Russia The Bank of Russia is the most prominent central bank actively accumulating physical silver. Faced with international sanctions, Russia explicitly added silver to its strategic state reserves to diversify away from the U.S. dollar. India While the Reserve Bank of India doesn't hold massive physical silver piles in its official currency reserves compared to gold, it has taken steps to re-monetize it. The RBI now allows silver to be used as collateral for bank loans (at a 10:1 silver-to-gold ratio), officially treating it as a financial asset. Saudi Arabia The Saudi Central Bank has indirect exposure to silver reserves and added over 900,000 shares in the iShares Silver Trust (SLV), making it one of the first modern central banks to integrate paper silver into its institutional portfolio. China While traditionally known for hoarding gold, the People's Bank of China has been accumulating physical silver behind the scenes for well over a decade. Also, the Chinese government recently implemented strict export licensing rules for silver, treating it as a controlled resource. I do believe these actions are positive indicators of silvers re-emergence as a strategic, monetary metal. As for the GSR, I do keep track of it and use it as a buying mechanism. I started stacking silver when the ratio went out of whack and was 120 to 1. I used it as an indicator that silver was cheap and the best buy at that time versus gold.. The ratio has been slowly closing since then and is currently at 58 to 1. So I am now leaning towards going back to gold as the ratio has closed significantly. I gotta say, India and there 10 :1 ratio is intriguing.
De-Dollarization Over 40 countries are actively pursuing de-dollarization to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar in global trade and financial reserves. This movement is spearheaded by the BRICS and SCO economic blocs, which utilize local currencies and alternative payment networks like BRICS Pay to settle bilateral trade. I believe this will be a big part of silver and golds future.
One of the things i hate about SILVER is, when you got to sell it, know a days mostly .999 your giving back $12 on generic SILVER and $6 back on ASE,S and thats a hard pill to sswallow and dont even get me started on junk SILVER
