Silver and gold are both a pain in the ass. So you buy a dozen little one-ounce bars of pure silver. You stick them in a drawer in your house. Or maybe you are paranoid, and you hide them in a hole in the ground. You don't use a safety deposit box at a bank because you don't trust banks -- that's why you bought the silver in the first place. So it sits there. What good does it do you? You are already in a hole when you bought it because of the huge mark-up. Why such a huge mark-up? Because actual bullion is difficult to handle. It's awkward. So let's say a day comes along when you decide to cash in some of your silver bars for dollars. You take it to a pawn shop, and they offer to give you 60% of its actual value. You are outraged. You won't sell. You take your silver back home and put it back in its hole in the ground. See what I'm getting at, here? Or let's say you decide to sell it at a loss. What have you gained by owning it? Other than a bit of wisdom into the working of the world? Nothing. You have lost money, not gained money, or kept money. Lost. I know what you're thinking. But what if there is a nuclear holocaust, and zombie hordes start roaming the world, in search of brains? Then I've got something of value. But have you, really? Who is going to give you anything for silver, if they don't know you and don't know if they can trust you? And if nobody is buying silver? What you have then are little bits of shiny metal. The things of real value will be guns, ammunition, gasoline, bread, clothing, shoes. Any way you look at it, hoarding silver or gold looks like a losing proposition.