This is a lesson some learn the hard way. Even in March 2020 the market for the two was drastically different. In a full economic collapse an exchange to trade in paper may be inaccessible, it may be confiscated by the government for the “national interest”, or the paper deemed flat out worthless if there’s fuckery by whoever is holding the metal.
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While I do believe in precious metals as a safetynet, I don't buy any of the hype around silver ending up being $1000+ an oz, unless serious inflation occurs, but if that'd were to happen then we'd have much bigger things to worry about, and a loaf of great would be $100, and having something to make more loaves of bread might be more valuable.
My main argument against silver or gold or any other precious metals is that we have known gold reserves with 99% certainty in terms of getting a yield. The only issue is that it costs more to mine at current prices. For example, there is known to be gold underneath areas of Santa Barbara and San Bernardino counties. Not only has this been tested, but proven with core samples. Again, it simply costs slightly more than the price of gold to extract due to many factors. If gold were to hit $4,000, immediately these areas would start being mined within a year and the market would get an even larger flow of gold entering into it.
Bitcoin on the other hand, much to many who disagree here, has a FIXED supply added to it. There is nothing that can change this and it will continue to decrease, unlike precious metals which are not in any way limited despite what people say.
Now, you may argue it's not real, bitcoin is just 1s and 0s, but we know that's a bullshit argument when that can be said with just about anything on paper these days that supposedly represents real world value . What use is silver in an economic collapse? We already have tons of other useful metals that can easily recycle into the existing supply to support the supposed "new" use-cases for the $1000 an ounce silver. This isn't the 1800s anymore. We can do a lot of things without silver, and if the need arises we can extract more silver at-will, whether its from a new mining operation, or the silverware and other items that already exist that have silver in them.
While a lot of your points are valid, I think you underestimate the time and effort required to get a silver mine up and running (in California it would take 5 years of enviro assessments and permits before you got a shovel in the ground). I work in oil and gas and the market balances itself over time - higher prices will lead to more exploration and production. A higher price will definitely lead to more production of silver... over time.
However, what sets silver apart is that it’s a relatively rare metal with a historical association to currency. In fact the US has issued silver backed notes in the past. If patriots win Gold and/or silver will underpin the new currency. Even when not functioning as a currency silver trades in the $10-20/oz range. This use as a currency would skyrocket the price. You see a glimpse of this even now as a few thousand redditors buy a handful and it’s already squeezing supply.
Where people get hung up on is the fluctuating value. Yes, it changes over time. But the key point is that it always has value. People have wallpapered their houses with dollars, but it will never happen with gold or silver.