# Silver & Gold Coin Blog: evergreen guides to silver, gold and their markets > Independent, plain-English guides to silver and gold: what moves prices, how the markets work, and how coins and bullion are held and stored. *Source : https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/* --- [Silver & Gold Coin Blog](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/) Plain-English explainers on silver, gold and the forces behind their prices [About](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/about/)[Contact](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/contact/) [Home](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/) [Silver](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/silver/)[Gold](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/gold/)[Money & central banks](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/monetary-policy/)[Futures markets](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/cftc/) [About](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/about/)[Contact](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/contact/) [![Gold vs Silver: How the Two Precious Metals Really Differ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/gold-vs-silver.webp)](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/gold-vs-silver/) Gold ## [Gold vs Silver: How the Two Precious Metals Really Differ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/gold-vs-silver/) Gold and silver share a monetary past but behave very differently today, from volatility and storage bulk to premiums, liquidity and demand. ### Top stories [![Selling or Buying Gold Coins in Le Havre: A Guide for English-Speaking Visitors](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/selling-and-buying-gold-coins-in-le-havre.webp) Gold #### Selling or Buying Gold Coins in Le Havre: A Guide for English-Speaking Visitors ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/24/selling-and-buying-gold-coins-in-le-havre/)[![Gold Sovereigns in France: Why a British Coin Travels So Well](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/gold-sovereigns-in-france.webp) Gold #### Gold Sovereigns in France: Why a British Coin Travels So Well ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/16/gold-sovereigns-in-france/)[![Bretton Woods and the 1971 Closing of the Gold Window](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/bretton-woods-and-the-1971-gold-window.webp) Money & central banks #### Bretton Woods and the 1971 Closing of the Gold Window ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/bretton-woods-and-the-1971-gold-window/)[![The American Silver Eagle: History, Designs and Versions](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/american-silver-eagle-history.webp) Silver #### The American Silver Eagle: History, Designs and Versions ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/american-silver-eagle-history/) ### Silver [See all →](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/silver/) [![The Hunt Brothers and the 1980 Silver Spike](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/hunt-brothers-and-the-1980-silver-spike.webp) History #### The Hunt Brothers and the 1980 Silver Spike How two Texas brothers built an enormous silver position in the late 1970s, how exchange rule changes ended it and what Silver Thursday still teaches. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/hunt-brothers-and-the-1980-silver-spike/)[![Industrial Demand for Silver: Where the Metal Actually Goes](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/industrial-demand-for-silver.webp) Markets #### Industrial Demand for Silver: Where the Metal Actually Goes Electronics, solar panels, brazing alloys and medicine: a plain-English tour of the industrial uses that make silver more than a monetary metal. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/industrial-demand-for-silver/)[![Silver Supply and By-Product Mining: Why Output Reacts Slowly](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/silver-supply-and-by-product-mining.webp) Markets #### Silver Supply and By-Product Mining: Why Output Reacts Slowly Most mined silver comes out as a by-product of lead, zinc, copper and gold. Here is why that makes silver supply slow to respond to higher prices. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/silver-supply-and-by-product-mining/) ### Gold [See all →](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/gold/) [![Gold Supply: Mine Production, Recycling and Mining Costs](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/gold-mine-supply-and-recycling.webp) Markets #### Gold Supply: Mine Production, Recycling and Mining Costs Where new gold comes from each year, why mine output changes slowly, what all-in sustaining costs measure and how recycling fills the gap. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/gold-mine-supply-and-recycling/)[![Gold ETFs vs Physical Gold: How the Two Kinds of Exposure Differ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/gold-etfs-vs-physical-gold.webp) Basics #### Gold ETFs vs Physical Gold: How the Two Kinds of Exposure Differ How physically backed gold ETFs work, what they cost, which risks they carry and how they compare with owning coins and bars directly. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/gold-etfs-vs-physical-gold/)[![LBMA Good Delivery Bars: The Standard Behind the Wholesale Market](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/lbma-good-delivery-gold-bars.webp) Markets #### LBMA Good Delivery Bars: The Standard Behind the Wholesale Market What a Good Delivery gold or silver bar is, the weight and purity rules it must meet, how refiners are accredited and why the standard matters. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/lbma-good-delivery-gold-bars/) ### Money & central banks [See all →](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/monetary-policy/) [![The Coinage Act of 1965 and the End of US Silver Coins](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/coinage-act-of-1965-and-the-end-of-silver-coins.webp) History #### The Coinage Act of 1965 and the End of US Silver Coins Why the United States removed silver from its dimes and quarters in 1965, what replaced it, and how the 40% silver half dollar fits into the story. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/coinage-act-of-1965-and-the-end-of-silver-coins/)[![Free Silver and the Cross of Gold: America's Great Money Debate](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/free-silver-and-the-cross-of-gold.webp) History #### Free Silver and the Cross of Gold: America's Great Money Debate From the Coinage Act of 1873 to Bryan's 1896 speech and the Gold Standard Act of 1900: how silver divided American politics for a generation. 5 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/free-silver-and-the-cross-of-gold/)[![The 1933 Gold Recall and the Gold Reserve Act of 1934](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/images/articles/the-1933-gold-recall-and-gold-reserve-act.webp) History #### The 1933 Gold Recall and the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 How Executive Order 6102 required Americans to hand in gold, how the Gold Reserve Act revalued gold to $35 and when private ownership became legal again. 4 min read ](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/15/the-1933-gold-recall-and-gold-reserve-act/) Silver · Gold · Markets · Money Silver & Gold Coin Blog is a small library of explainers about precious metals. Each guide takes one question, such as why central banks buy gold, what the Commitments of Traders report shows or how a bag of old US silver coins is valued, and answers it in plain English, with the history and mechanics needed to make sense of it. The aim is understanding, not tips: you will not find price forecasts or recommendations to buy or sell here. ## What the site covers The guides fall into four broad areas, each with its own section. - **Silver:** the metal’s dual role as an industrial input and a monetary asset, and the coins and bars collectors and savers hold. See the [silver](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/silver/) section. - **Gold:** jewelry and investment demand, the major consuming countries, and how coin buying is measured. See the [gold](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/gold/) section. - **Monetary policy:** interest rates, central banks, quantitative easing and the dollar, the forces that most often move metals in the short run. See the [monetary policy](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/monetary-policy/) section. - **Futures and regulation:** how COMEX and the London market work, what the CFTC publishes and how to read positioning data. See the [CFTC and markets](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/cftc/) section. ## Why evergreen explainers instead of daily notes Daily market commentary has its place, but it ages quickly. A note explaining why gold rose on a Tuesday is rarely useful a month later, and a long archive of such notes is hard to learn from. Many readers arrive with a more basic question: what actually drives these prices, and how do the pieces of the market connect? Evergreen guides answer that question in a form that stays useful. They describe mechanisms, such as how real interest rates affect the cost of holding gold or why futures volumes dwarf physical supply, and they use historical episodes as illustrations rather than as news. When a figure appears, it is a historical one that can be checked, not a current price that will be out of date by tomorrow. Once you understand the mechanisms, the daily headlines become much easier to interpret on your own. ## A guided tour If you are new to precious metals, start with [gold versus silver](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/gold-vs-silver/), which sets out how the two metals differ in supply, demand, volatility and practical handling. Then read the companion guides on [what moves gold prices](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/what-moves-gold-prices/) and [what moves silver prices](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/what-moves-silver-prices/), which map the main drivers of each. The [gold-silver ratio](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/the-gold-silver-ratio/) guide shows how the two prices relate over time and why the ratio is watched. For the policy side, [interest rates, QE and precious metals](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/interest-rates-qe-and-precious-metals/) explains real yields, the 2013 taper tantrum and why jobs reports move metals. [Central banks and gold](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/central-banks-and-gold/) traces official reserves from the end of dollar convertibility in 1971 to the buying of recent years. To understand how prices are formed, read [COMEX, paper and physical](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/comex-paper-vs-physical/), then [reading the Commitments of Traders report](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/reading-the-commitments-of-traders-report/). Demand from the world’s largest consuming countries is covered in [China, India and Asian demand](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/china-india-and-asian-demand/), while [reading mint bullion coin sales](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/reading-mint-bullion-coin-sales/) explains what headline coin figures do and do not show. Finally, two practical guides deal with physical metal: [90 percent silver coin bags](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/90-percent-silver-coin-bags/), on pre-1965 US coinage, and [how to store bullion](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/2026/10/14/how-to-store-bullion/), on home storage, bank boxes and professional vaults. ## How to use the site Each guide stands on its own, so you can start wherever your question lies. Guides link to one another where a topic overlaps, and the four sections group them by theme. Tables and lists summarize key facts, and most guides close with a short recap for quick review. Nothing here is personal financial advice. The guides describe how markets and products work; whether metals suit your own situation depends on factors only you, or an adviser who knows your circumstances, can weigh. Where a fact is uncertain or disputed, the guides say so rather than guess. More about the editorial approach is on the [about](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/about/) page. ## An independent site This web address was once used by a precious-metals dealer’s blog that published daily market notes until about 2018. The current site is independent and run by a new editorial team. It has no connection with Investment Rarities or any other dealer, does not sell metals and is not affiliated with any mint, exchange or regulator. All the content published here is new and written for this site. Partner Readers based in France can have their coins and scrap gold valued at [Maison Or & Bijoux](https://maison-or-bijoux.com/), which buys and sells gold, silver and jewellery. ### Plain-English explainers on silver, gold and the forces behind their prices What moves the metals, how the markets work and how to hold coins and bullion sensibly [Silver](https://silverandgoldcoinblog.com/category/silver/)