Charts definitely tell the story. Since silver in its refined state is actually more rare than gold the historical ratio of 16:1 would seem more reasonable. Silver seems to be one of the most manipulated markets to the short side as well. Silver is currently in backwardation for an extended period of time. Silver is one of the most useful metals on the planet. It is the most reflective, most electrically conductive and is a natural antimicrobial in a world where antibiotic resistance is growing all of the time. The current rate at which silver is mined in the world is at a ratio of 10 ounces of silver for each ounce of gold mined. There are estimated to be 1 billion ounces of above ground available silver for investment etc.... There are estimated to be 5 billion ounces of gold in above ground available form for investment etc... this makes silver 5 times as rare as gold in deliverable form.
I just left the above comment at gary tanashians blog here regarding silver and its continual run up in price.
