Investments tend to go by trends, just like fashion, and the price of silver is going up.  Remember the tech stocks of the 1990s and how a few people cleaned up on those?  There were millions of others who weren’t able to buy as many but who are now enjoying a comfortable retirement thanks to those stocks and prudent financial advisors who told them when to buy and sell.  Now it looks as if the price of silver is trending once more just as the mania for gold and other precious metals is starting to die down a bit.

There are quite a few reasons that silver is trending up.  One is that people just don’t have the funds available to buy gold, which has been steadily appreciating for years.  With the economic downturn, unemployment numbers, and companies cutting down on hours as well as paid positions, fewer people have fewer dollars to invest.  Most people can afford to buy some junk silver or an ounce or two of silver each month for retirement purposes or to contribute to their emergency funds.  The current price of silver is less than the minimum wage for an hour’s labor.

Another reason for the silver wave about to hit is that silver is affordable, portable, and can be easily spent and bartered in all the forms available.  Whether or not the “preppers” are correct and the economy will collapse, the fact remains that silver coins, junk silver, and denominations of silver bars are easy to barter with.

The main reason that the current price of silver per ounce is rising, though, is the one that makes the best investment sense—scarcity.  The next silver wave is just over the horizon and not as far away as one would think.  The world runs on technology and all those gadgets we depend on, from our phones to our computers, need silver in order to work.  Look at anything in your home or office that runs off electricity or batteries or even solar power and you’ll be looking at something that depends on silver to operate.  It’s estimated in some circles that 90% of the silver available to be mined has already been taken from the ground, making silver a scarce but critical resource.

So what does all this mean for someone who is thinking of buying silver?  It means that the next silver wave will see silver prices go through the roof unless a metal can be found with the conductive and malleable properties of silver.  Those who buy silver rather than gold bullion, platinum, copper or other metals can expect to see a return on their investment comparable to those that bought gold in the 70’s are seeing.

The next silver wave is on the way, and very soon.  Whether you buy silver bars, junk silver, silver bullion or commemorative coins you’ll see your investment in the price of silver per ounce appreciate on a bigger scale than even gold.