On January 18, 1980, the price of silver had rocketed upward 724% in less than a year, from $6 to $50 an ounce.  The price had risen so high and so fast that people formed long lines outside their local coin and pawn shops to cash in their silver.  Ladies were selling their tea sets, families were hocking their silverware, and coin collectors were cashing in their collections.

As dramatic as that sounds, leading experts today think silver prices could eventually dwarf that 1980 event.  Some see future increases as high as 5000% and they are calling this the opportunity of a lifetime.

They see this as the greatest wealth transfer in history, from those who don’t own silver to those that do.  Their thinking is that those holding silver could eventually have great purchasing power, and be able to buy up many assets from those that do not.

But today the general public is unaware of silver’s value, and the forces that will propel it to great heights.  And some entertaining and revealing street interviews of people in Southern California clearly show this.

SILVER OR CHOCOLATE – WHICH WOULD YOU TAKE?

The interviews were conducted by Mark Shouldice (Mark Dice), an internet personality.  In the interviews, he approached people on the street by telling them, “Congratulations, you’ve won a 10-ounce bar of silver or a chilled king-sized Hershey chocolate bar.  Which one do you prefer?”

All ten people chose the chocolate bar, worth $1.50!

None of them chose the silver bar, more than half a pound of silver, worth over $150.  In other words, they could have bought 100 chocolate bars with the 10 oz silver bar.

But no one understood the value of the silver bar or what they could do with it.  As one interviewee said, “I don’t have any way to do anything with the silver.”

So he took the chocolate bar, even though Mark had deliberately conducted the interviews right in front of a coin shop, where he could have easily checked out the price of the silver bar.  Or better yet, taken his free silver bar and cashed it in on the spot.

Eventually, in a not so subtle hint, Mark even suggested to an interviewee that they could step into the coin shop to verify the authenticity of the silver bar.  No doubt this would have led to discovering it’s $150 value.  But instead he was told, “I always take chocolate.”

You can see these surprising interviews on YouTube at Chocolate or Silver Street Interviews.  Or just Google search on “Mark Dice silver or chocolate bar.”

THE PUBLIC IS USED TO CURRENCY BACKED BY NOTHING

So the public is currently blind to the value of silver, and its potential as an investment.

Perhaps this is not so surprising.  After all, the last generation to live under a silver and gold currency standard are the baby boomers.  Back then, a paper dollar bill could be exchanged for real silver.  Dollar bills actually said “Silver Certificate” on them.  And our the coins were made of 90% silver too.

So the government could only print as many paper dollar bills as they had silver (and gold) to back them up.  It was real money back then, with real value.

Today, our coins no longer contain silver, and our dollar bills no longer say Silver Certificate.  Instead they just say Federal Reserve Note, which is currency backed by nothing but a bunch of IOU’s from the government.

And so, all generations since the boomers have lived under a paper currency situation not backed by silver.

VIRTUALLY NO ONE IS INVESTING IN SILVER

Not understanding the value of silver means people don’t invest in it either.  This is borne out by investment newsletters and consultants that advise people to buy precious metals.  They estimate that only 2% of the American population own precious metals of any kind – excluding jewelry, of course.

So the public’s lack of awareness means you can buy silver at very undervalued prices today.   And that leads to an opportunity.  Because the best time to get into an investment is before the general public becomes aware of it.

Just imagine what happens to the silver price when the other 98% of the public wake up and rush out to buy it.  Silver will be in all of the news reports and headlines of the day.  And there will be a mad rush to buy it.

THE SILVER PRICE COULD GO TO THE MOON

Just doing the math here, if 2% are buying now, and that jumps to 100% of the population buying, that’s 50 times more people, or a 5000% increase in demand.  The price will skyrocket.  And of course, in these manias, like the one we described in 1980, the price will overshoot the value and go even higher.

Realistically, of course, not everyone will pile in and buy silver.  So I rule out multiple 1000% increases, even though this has happened in the past.

But it’s safe to say that many people will rush to buy silver when the mania happens.  And it’s pretty easy to justify a more modest 500% increase over time.  That is, if you can consider 500% modest.  But at today’s price of around $15 to $20 an ounce, it’s fairly easy to make the case for $100 silver in the future.

PLUS SILVER PROTECTS YOUR PURCHASING POWER

But making money is just one of the benefits of silver investing.  Some might say it’s actually the least of the benefits.  Because silver can protect you from the ravages of inflation.

For example, it takes $3 today to buy what $1 would buy in 1980.  But silver can preserve the purchasing power of your hard-earned income.

Here’s a real world example for you.

Back in 1964 I could buy a gallon of gasoline for a quarter ($.25) in Springfield, Missouri.  Today, many decades of inflation later, gasoline is now over $3.00 a gallon.  But as I stand at the gas pump, filling my tank with that $3.00 gasoline, I find it interesting that you and I can still buy a gallon of gasoline with that same quarter.

Because that 1964 quarter was made of 90% silver.  And the silver in that quarter is worth about $3.00 today.

See how silver has protected us from inflation?  Gasoline is still the same price today as it was in 1964, in terms of silver.  Because, unlike today’s paper currency, silver is real money.  It’s been used by mankind for 5000 years.  And should our debt-ridden financial system go haywire, like it almost did in the crash of 2008, people will eventually run toward precious metals like silver for safety.  Because they have lasting value.

Of course, we fervently hope this doesn’t happen.  But in a disaster or a real financial meltdown, where credit cards are not accepted, and the ATM’s shut down, like they did in Greece in June, 2015, you would still be able to buy food and necessities for you and your family with silver.

So silver provides purchasing power and disaster insurance as well.

And by investing at today’s low prices, you get all of these benefits for free, while poised for a great profit in the future.  Which means silver investing is one of the best tools you can use to build a more secure financial future for you and your family.

WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW – GET PHYSICAL

American Silver Eagle and Canadian Silver Maple Leaf

We’ll talk more about silver investing in future issues.  But if you want to do something right now, the best way to start is to buy “hold in your hand” physical silver.  Like they say, if you can’t hold it, you don’t own it.  And my favorite choice here is to buy US Silver Eagles.

These beautiful one ounce coins are produced by the United States Mint, and made out of .999 fine pure silver.  That’s about as pure as you can get.

Well, that is except for the Canadian coins, who have the US beat in the purity department.  Their one ounce silver Maple Leafs are .9999 pure, and usually sell for about a dollar less than the Silver Eagles.  So sometimes I can’t resist, and buy a few of them too.

But regardless of your choice, the feel and weight in your hand of these pure, precious metal coins is a great experience.  And it will give you the satisfaction of owning something of eternal value.  Because, as we said earlier, silver has been used as money by mankind for over 5000 years.

So just look up your local coin dealer in Google with a search like “coin dealers your location.”  For example, I found a great coin dealer by searching with “coin dealers Orlando Florida.”  Then give them a call and ask if they have silver eagles, and what price they are selling them for.

Including commission, they should cost about $20 per coin.  Then go visit them and maybe buy one or two to get started.

So check it out.  Just google “coin dealers your city” right now to get started.

Or, alternatively, you could just go out and buy a nice chocolate bar .

The choice is yours.

To your health and prosperity – John

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COMING SOON!

You may be interested in our new book Silver Investing For Beginners, due to be published this summer.

You’ll learn…

• Why silver is a better investment than gold today.
• How to get started for just $3.
• What kind of silver to buy, including…
• …ways to invest in silver mines, stocks and funds in your stock account.
• How to buy silver and get paid a dividend to boot (not widely known)!
• And much, much more.

I’ll keep you posted – John