That's why precious metals are a hedge against inflation. If you had a dollar bill from the 30's (forgetting about silver certificates and their collector value) and kept it until today - it would be worth $1. A dollar's worth of silver on the other hand would be worth a whole bunch of dollars.
Today, we talk about the price of gold and silver going up and down. In reality, what is usually happening is the dollar is getting stronger or weaker and can thus purchase less or more of a precious metal. Silver tends to be more volatile than gold - that's because it has industrial uses as well. Copper tends to go up and down based on industrial needs (i.e., how much does China need), gold reflects strength/weakness of a fiat currency, and silver does both.
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