The Gold/Silver Ratio

Bespoke Investment Group posts the Gold/Silver ratio going back to 1975:

They note that the ratio has tended to bounce between 40 and 80 over the past few years. The ratio is now down to 47.

The Gold/Silver Ratio is a topic that has obsessed people for centuries. Plato mentioned that the Gold/Silver ratio was 12. In 1792, the U.S. Congress, at the advice of Alexander Hamilton, passed the Coinage Act of 1792. This was the government’s first attempt at price-fixing. The act defined a U.S. dollar as 371.25 grams of silver or 24.75 grams of gold. In other words, Hamilton pegged the Gold/Silver ratio at 15. In 1834, Congress had to bump it up to 16.

Posted by on December 7th, 2010 at 3:39 pm


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