Editorial:

After decades of gold's dominance, silver seems to be regaining a central place in the precious metals game. The rapid fall in the gold-silver ratio since 2025 perhaps marks a historic turning point, comparable to the great seesaw phases observed in the XXᵉ century. Long undervalued, penalized by its industrial abundance, silver today benefits from growing structural demand and a spectacular catch-up effect. Understanding this trend is no longer the preserve of specialists: it is now a strategic issue for any investor attentive to long-term cycles.

In April 2025, it took almost 100 ounces of silver to buy an ounce of gold. But nine months later, in December 2025, only 60 ounces were needed.

This break could put an end to almost 70 years of revaluation in favor of gold. In 1968, it took less than 20 ounces of silver to acquire an ounce of gold.

How can we explain such a rapid rise in the value of silver? And how can you use the gold-silver ratio in your investment strategy?

1) What is the gold-silver ratio?

The gold-silver ratio is often mentioned by specialists, but its importance remains underestimated. The gold-silver ratio is based on a simple principle: gold and silver are two distinct precious metals, not equivalent, but comparable.

Gold-silver ratio = gold price / silver price 

Source : Gold to Silver Ratio - 100 Year Historical Chart | MacroTrends

Since the end of the First World War, the gold-to-silver ratio has generally fluctuated between 20 and 100. Regular phases of gold outperformance (1920-1940, 1968-1991, 2011-2020) were followed by phases of silver outperformance (1940-1968, 1991-2011). An investor who had taken into account these major phases of relative outperformance by gold or silver would have significantly improved his performance on precious metals.

2) History of the gold-silver ratio

The gold-silver ratio has been the subject of numerous arbitrations throughout history. In the Egypt of the early dynasties (Iᵉʳ-IIIᵉ dynasties, c. 3100-2700 BC), then under the Old Kingdom, gold was abundant. It came mainly from Nubia, in the Eastern Desert. Silver, on the other hand, was relatively scarce and had to be imported, mainly from Anatolia or the Levant. At this time, historians and Egyptologists agree on a ratio of between 3 and 4. In other words, 4 ounces of silver were sufficient to acquire one ounce of gold.

But Egypt is rather an exception in history. Indeed, during the periods of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, historians estimate the gold-silver ratio at around 10 to 15. Such a discrepancy with Egypt may naturally have prompted arbitrage activity. This ratio then remained relatively stable for much of human history.

Many merchants and cities built their fortunes on the gold-silver ratio. In the XIIIᵉ and XIVᵉ centuries, Venice played a key role as a monetary arbitrageur. It imported gold from Africa and exported European silver to the Orient. Venice soon minted a stable, credible gold coin: the Venetian ducat (from 1284).

The ducat quickly became an international currency of reference, accepted from the Levant to Northern Europe and based on a remarkably constant title and weight. In fact, medieval Europe was rich in silver mines, notably in Bohemia, Saxony, the Tyrol and the Harz. In Africa, on the other hand, gold was particularly abundant, mainly from the Bambouk, Bouré and Galam regions.

3) The revaluation of gold since the 20th century

When Napoleon created the Germinal franc on Germinal 7, Year XI (March 28, 1803), the official gold-silver ratio was set at 15.5. This ratio was therefore relatively close to that observed during Antiquity and the Middle Ages. But everything changes at the end of the XIXᵉ century and the beginning of the XXᵉ century.

At the end of the XIXᵉ century, the gold rush and the institution of bimetallism in most countries (official convertibility of gold and silver with each other) lead to increasing difficulties in monetary management. In 1873, for example, the US Congress abolished the free minting of the standard silver dollar coin. The discovery of new silver deposits destabilized the monetary equilibrium of the time.

According to data from the Silver Institute, silver is mainly a by-product of the extraction of other metals. In fact, silver is mainly mined with :

• zinc or lead (35% to 40%) ;
• copper (25% to 30%) ;
• gold (around 15%).

The growing exploitation of new metals for industrial purposes has thus increased the quantity of silver available on the market. This phenomenon helps to explain the rise in the gold-silver ratio, which exceeded 100 at certain periods, notably around 1940, 1991 and 2020.

4) Will silver outperform gold?

Many specialists are now expecting silver to rise sharply in value. This trend already seems observable. Between April 2025 and January 2026, the gold-silver ratio fell from over 100 to almost 50!

There are many reasons for silver's outperformance:

• Production shortages, combined with ever-increasing industrial demand over the past few years.
• Gold's historically high valuation relative to silver.
• Silver's high sensitivity to supply shortages and speculative movements.

These factors largely explain silver's recent appreciation against gold. Silver could further accentuate its long-term outperformance if industrial demand continues to grow. But this phenomenon is part of a long-term dynamic. It is still possible for gold to experience rebound phases.

Conclusion

The gold-silver ratio is a very important indicator in the precious metals sector. While silver was relatively scarce at the beginning of the history of metal production, the gold-silver ratio quickly stabilized around 10 to 15, from antiquity until the XIXᵉ century.

The industrial era led to a vast revaluation of gold. But the gold-silver ratio has also fluctuated wildly over the last century, moving between 20 and 100. After at least fifteen years of appreciation in favour of gold, we are now witnessing a marked revaluation of silver.

The correction of the ratio to around 50 in 2026 already testifies to a change in perspective, but silver still needs to consolidate this outperformance over the long term in order to confirm the historical trend observed to date.

The potential of the gold-silver ratio thus enables every investor to optimize his or her investments in precious metals and potentially benefit from significantly improved performance.