Silver swings twice as hard as gold, carries 19 percent VAT and needs a lot of space. It still has followers because it is an industrial metal and a precious metal at once. When silver makes sense and in which form.
In short
- Gold-silver ratio historically 50 to 80: above 80 silver counts as cheap.
- 19 percent VAT on coins and bars; tax-free only in a bonded warehouse or via an ETC with delivery entitlement.
- Industry uses more than half of production: solar, electronics, medicine.
- A kilo of silver weighs a kilo and is worth around 90 times less than a kilo of gold; storage gets bulky from €20,000.
Two metals in one
Silver is a precious metal and an industrial metal. More than half of annual demand comes from solar cells, electronics, medicine and batteries. As a result the price reacts to the economy like a commodity and to crises like gold, and the outcome is a volatility roughly twice that of gold. Whoever buys silver buys volatility.
The gold-silver ratio
The gold price divided by the silver price sat mostly between 40 and 80 through the 20th century. In recent years the ratio hovered around 80 to 90, in early 2026 around 85. Followers read an undervaluation of silver into it; sceptics point out that the ratio has almost never dropped below 60 since 2010. As a timing signal it only works with patience.
VAT
Unlike investment gold, silver is not tax-exempt. Coins and bars carry 19 percent VAT that nobody refunds on sale. Add the dealer premium of 5 to 10 percent on coins. Silver therefore has to rise around 25 percent before you break even. This can be circumvented via bonded warehouses where silver is bought and stored without VAT, or via exchange-traded ETCs with physical backing that can be sold tax-free after one year if they carry a delivery entitlement.
The storage problem
An ounce of silver costs around €30 in 2026, an ounce of gold around €2,700. For €20,000 you get 7.4 kilos of gold that fit in a jacket pocket, or 20 kilos of silver that fill a safe deposit box. From medium amounts physical silver is impractical, and it tarnishes when exposed to air and sulphur.
When silver fits
As an addition of 10 to 20 percent of the precious metal share, if you believe in industrial demand from the energy transition and can stand the swings. Physically only in ounce coins such as Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, Britannia or silver Krugerrand that are bought back everywhere. For larger amounts via ETC or bonded warehouse. As a crisis metal for paying, silver works better than gold because the denominations are smaller; whether that scenario ever arrives is another question.
What does not make sense
Silver bars with margin taxation have not been cheaper since 2023, silver tablets and tiny coins carry premiums above 20 percent, and collector coins are a hobby, not an investment. Silver jewellery is consumption too: the material value is often under ten percent of the price.
Try it yourself
Gold CalculatorWeight, fineness, gold price: the material value of jewellery, bars and coins, also as a buying range.Frequently asked questions
Is silver cheap compared with gold?
Measured against the historic ratio, yes. Whether it catches up depends on industry and interest rates; the only certainty is the higher volatility.
Is a silver ETC worthwhile?
For amounts above €5,000 it is the most practical form: no VAT on purchase, small spread, tax-free after one year if a delivery entitlement exists.
Can I sell silver tax-free like gold?
Yes, after one year of holding the gain is tax-free. The VAT paid on purchase, however, stays lost.
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