I'm a stacker. I'm constantly looking at silver and gold prices, the spread, inventories, premiums, derivatives in SLV, etc, etc.
The obvious trend since SVB went down was a move to towards safer assets, let it be a "too big to fail bank (lol)", government securities (lol), and precious metals. Premiums on 1 oz silver rounds (generic) are nearly $5 anywhere you look. My local coin shop (LCS) was charging $4.75 per ounce over spot on generics, which is actually lower than the vast majority on JM bullion and SD bullion.
With silver spot being 24.25 as we speak, a $5+ premium is nearly a 20% premium on the price. Higher premiums almost always mean high demand and low supply. Inventory on the comex is dropping at a pretty staggering rate (277 million oz left) and the entire comex could be drained with a mere $6.6 billion dollars.
My LCS said it's been insane since the banks began to fail. Way more buyers than sellers.
The price of silver specifically has been artificially suppressed by the big banks through derivatives and artificial contracts traded amongst the big banks. As inventory continues to drain, the dollar falls, BRICS grows it's membership, and uncertainty remains, precious metals SHOULD skyrocket.
Ultimately, I don't invest in PMs are a get rich quick scheme, but they really are a great store of value. Not investment advice, but holding silver and gold, while you can still get it, could be an answer to rapidly rising inflation.
Just a little useless trivia for my fellow silver collectors. Prior to the industrial revolution, silver maintained its appearance throughout its use. It did not tarnish and was associated with the moon, whereas gold was associated with the sun. Throughout history these two precious metals were viewed with mystical power. Silver only began to tarnish following the release of high amounts of sulfur into the atmosphere. It is the level of sulfur that dictates silver tarnishing. And for gold, there is a disease called Wilson's that causes a person to accumulate high levels of gold in their system. It causes a halo of gold around the iris of the eyes in certain light along with some pretty crappy symptoms.
copper, not gold
Oops, you are right. It is copper accumulation that causes Wilson's disease. Thank you for the correction and the reminder