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Message:: [QUOTE="-jeffB, post: 2011662, member: 27832"]Preach it, brother! My folks gave me some money to put into an IRA in the mid-1980s. I put it all into a mutual fund with a 5% front-end load -- that's right, it lost 5% right off the bat. Today, that investment has multiplied by almost 12 times in nominal dollars. Had I put it into silver, it would be worth maybe 2 or 3 times as much in nominal dollars, and it would have lost value relative to gas, milk, or thousands of other products. Inflation, according to official figures, has devalued the dollar by a factor of about 2.4 during that same period. Silver has approximately maintained a constant value; in 2011, it was way ahead, but it was terrible from 1990 through 2005 or so (maintaining a nearly constant price in dollars while inflation ate away at that value). And don't even talk to me about people who went all-in in 2011 at $30-40/ounce. They might eventually sell at a profit, but silver's got to climb out of a very, very deep hole first. Meanwhile, that mutual fund continues to increase in actual value. Even factoring in inflation, it's multiplied four- or fivefold. It's not very shiny, not very interesting; it's a lousy hobby. But it's a great investment. Compare and contrast with silver coins. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]