Got silver? (remembering sonnypage)

Investment Analysis Clubs Macro Economic Trends and Risks
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https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/silver-prices-surge-8afe2e4b?mod=hp_lead_pos9

Surging Silver Prices Prompt Americans to Empty Jewelry Boxes and Coin Jars

Strong industrial demand brings the precious metal’s highest price levels in more than a decade

By Roshan Fernandez, The Wall Street Journal, June 19, 2025

Gold gets all the glory, but silver prices have surged nearly as much this year, up 27% to the highest levels in more than a decade.

As with gold, jittery investors are scooping up the precious metal, but silver prices are getting an extra jolt from strong industrial demand, especially from solar-panel makers.

Unlike gold, which is used mostly as a store of wealth and in jewelry, the bulk of silver demand, about 80%, comes from manufacturers…

Demand from industrial buyers has yet to slow. Silver consumption for cutlery and electronics has remained steady, while demand from solar-panel manufacturers has kept growing…

There is a risk that demand from the solar sector, especially in China, was pulled forward ahead of trade restrictions and changes to U.S. energy policy, and that there could be a hangover in the second half of the year…

Silver’s rally has made it worth the effort to sift through coin jars looking for old dimes, quarters and half dollars. The melt value of 25-cent coins minted from before 1965, when they were made of silver, is more than $6.50. … [end quote]

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I remember using the beautiful silver Mercury dime when U.S. currency actually meant something and a Hershey bar could be bought for a nickel.

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When DH and I got married I insisted that he sign a ketubah, the traditional Jewish marriage document. The book we consulted mentioned 100 zuzim to be due to the wife should the husband divorce her. DH reasonably asked what zuzim are. I didn’t know exactly but I knew that they were a silver coin and there is a song (Chad Gadya) which mentions that a kid goat could be bought for 2 zuzim.

To my surprise, DH presented me with a box of 100 one-ounce silver coins at our wedding, each in an individual snug plastic case. He suggested that I give one to each guest. I refused. These were my zuzim to be used in case of emergency later. They are still in my safe deposit box. When we were married the price of silver was under $5 an ounce.

DH is pressuring me to sell my precious metals. I refuse. I am not holding them for capital gains. They are insurance against a worst-case scenario. Fiat currencies may collapse but silver and gold coins will always hold value.
Wendy

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True, and it’s good to have a small amount at hand, should you ever need to barter.

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Remembering Sonnypage

Sonny was here in the middle-Fool period: post AOL, pre this software version. Best I can track (via a couple sketchy google searches), that’s at least between 2008 and 2017.

Depending on how and when you bought, you could be seeing a nice profit, or you could be entirely underwater.

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I don’t remember what was happening in 2011 and 2012, but if that’s when you stocked up, you’re well short of breaking even. And the drop in 2008 confounds me as well; I would think that when the banking system was on the verge of going toes up that gold and silver would have been ascending dramatically. Instead, it took a few years for that to happen. And then to crash. Weird.

Ah Sonny, we miss you.

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DH gave me the gift of 100 ounces of silver on our wedding day, March 6, 1993.

I bought gold at various times but the last time was in 2008.

Both gold and silver have gone through boom and bust cycles.

Wendy

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Perhaps a little off-topic, but I think it is an interesting story.

During World War II, the War Department borrowed 15,000 tons of silver from the US Treasury. The silver was drawn into wire, and was used to create the large electromagnets used in the uranium separation facility at Oak Ridge. This was before the uranium centrifuge was invented, and electromagnetic separation was the only technology available at the time. The silver was eventually returned to the Treasury.

_ Pete

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Not all of it. 11,000 pounds went missing, which sounds like a lot until you percent it as part of 30,000,000 pounds that was used. Heck, you could spill that much drawing it into wire and winding the coils for the magnets and centrifuges they needed. Eventually the difference was “made up” and the Treasury was made whole, but not until decades later.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/from-treasury-vault-to-the-manhattan-project

Silver, it turns out, is an even better conductor than copper. So if there’s ever a copper shortage…

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That was one lucky trade for me… I went long around $15 for my physical holding and then $SLV for 20’s, and sold mid 40’s and then shorted at $35, and closed some around mid 20’s and the rest at $15.

Similarly this year, I had multiple trades on Silver, all profitable. I even posted about some of those trades. I was hoping for some squeeze like 2012, so I have $40~$47 Aug expiry long call spreads.

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Now costco sells Silver bars… for my wedding, my sister gave us a silver tea set, silver trays, 12 silver cups, saucer and spoon, etc… We have used it for post wedding reception for my family. Ever since it is in a vault. May be we need to take it out and use it :slight_smile:

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I got my late wife’s fancy tea cup collection out and used it at my mother’s 90th birthday. She wanted to have English tea as a part of the party, so we did.

Get the stuff out and use it.

—Peter

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Absolutely take it out and use it! But between uses keep it in plastic bags away from oxygen. That will reduce tarnish which can take a lot of time to polish. (I was the family silver polisher before important dinners and also polished the Temple’s silver Torah crowns and breastplates.)
Wendy

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I have several Christmases given coins some silver to my nephews and niece.

I looked recently at my collect. I have plenty more silver.

I have sold in 2011 plenty of silver.

I collected coins endlessly.

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I remember him, he was a very interesting poster. I think he is the one that spurred a very long running conversation about the ethics of “jingle mail” after he decided to “strategically default” on the mortgage on his lake house. He enjoyed the lake house, he could easily afford the lake house mortgage, but the value of the house had dropped below the mortgage value, so he decided to strategically default and allow the bank to foreclose.

Talking about precious metals around that time, I didn’t buy precious metals themselves, but I did invest in some precious metal companies. Looking at my tracking spreadsheet, I made quite a bit of money trading GG in 2008/9, and lost a little trading AUY, lost a little trading PAAS, and gained some trading SLW.

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Sonny was a big fan of SLW…

DB2

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Yep, I also became a fan after I saw trading profit in SLW with a 400+% IRR overall. These were a bunch of short-term trades, so not huge $$$, but just huge IRR. Wow, I just looked at the spreadsheet again and one of my SLW trades was only for a single day, bought on 11/3/08 for $3.70, sold on 11/4/08 for $4.33. I don’t trade like that anymore (and I can’t believe that I actually traded like that less than 20 years ago!)

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My favorite sonnypage memories are his tales from real estate offices and roadside diners and the like…. a mostly lost once congenial world.

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Tales from the Thai Thai. He was a great story teller for sure.

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