Silver may be the most undervalued asset on the planet right now

The silver market has been operating in a supply deficit situation for the last 60 years but that supply has run out (US had 1 billion ounces of silver after WWII – this silver filled the supply deficit until 2004(?) when the US Mint had to buy silver on the open market to fulfill orders for silver Eagle coins

With the prices of gold and silver depressed (manipulated?) for 20 years, most miners went out of business or drastically scaled back operations – exploration for new mines mostly stopped – now that the demand for commodities is rising (think 3 billion people in Asia trying to achieve the western lifestyle) miners are ramping back up to speed but bringing a new mine online can take 5 to 7 years (or longer if you have to deal with NIMBY and tree-hugger issues)

Interesting tidbits about silver:
– silver to gold ratio in the earth is about 16:1 – interestingly, silver and gold have traded close to this ratio for most of the last 600 years (currently this ratio is about 50:1 so a return to the historic ratio will make silver far outperform gold in the current bull market)
– silver is a natural virus and bacteria killer – many new applications are taking advantage of this fact – silver linings in refridgerators and washing machines control germs – silver in the socks of our troops in Iraq helps prevent foot fungi from developing
– silver is one of the best electrical conductors known – how much silver will Asia need to give 3 billion people the western lifestyle? – all electronics have a little bit of silver in them (think cell phones, computers, TVs, etc)

I could go on and on about silver but, as one of my professors would say, “the proof is left as an exercise for the student” – ie, do your own research