Silver is a good investment. The manner in which you choose to invest will depend upon your risk tolerance and the type of benefit you are looking to secure. Primary opportunities for investment include owning physical silver and investing in silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Each has its particular drawbacks and advantages. A Bit of Background […] The post Investing in Silver: Finding a Suitable Vehicle appeared first on JHCB ..read more

Cloud seeding is one of the most unusual ways silver is used in industry. Silver iodide (AgI), a compound of iodine and silver, is a catalyst that creates optimum conditions within a cloud to produce precipitation. This photosensitive solid was also used in early photography and as an antiseptic in medicine. Although its more modern […] The post Silver Iodide: Generating Storms through Cloud Seeding appeared first on JHCB ..read more

In April of this year, $20 million worth of gold and other high-value items were stolen from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The gold had arrived on an Air Canada flight from Zurich, Switzerland, was offloaded, and transported to a warehouse location near the airport but outside of its security zone. It went missing soon after, […] The post Gold Heists: the Lure of Gold Still Attracts Criminal Masterminds appeared first on JHCB ..read more

Gold is the quintessential symbol of wealth and status. Throughout history, displaying, adorning oneself with, spending, and stockpiling gold have been the ultimate expressions of power. Gold bathrooms? A matter of taste. Proponents of the gold standard rely on the historic stability of this metal as the rationale for its use as the foundation for […] The post The Gold Standard vs Fiat Currency: History and Plausibility appeared first on JHCB ..read more

The precious metals industry is subject to marketplace fluctuations, political volatility, industrial demands, and consumers’ response to economic instability. In order to brace against these factors and maintain a successful business, precious metals traders often turn to the futures markets to secure their margins—mitigating against both unsustainable gains and devastating losses. Futures markets involve legal […] The post Precious Metals Industry and Futures Markets: Locking in the Margins appeared first on JHCB ..read more

The US is, once again, about to hit the debt ceiling. Fundamentally, we have more debt than can be funded with revenue: approximately $31.4 trillion in debt compared to $25.7 trillion in GDP. As a nation, we spend more than we can afford. This a familiar predicament for greater than fifty percent of Americans who […] The post The Trillion-Dollar Coin Debate appeared first on JHCB ..read more

The history of precious metals mining is inextricably linked to the social and economic development and exploration of the world. The use of precious metals for currency originates in ancient times and since then, wealth has fueled the power and expansiveness of kingdoms, nation-states, countries, and individuals. The technology used to extract these precious metals […] The post History of Precious Metals Mining appeared first on JHCB ..read more

The gold-silver ratio is the relationship between the price of gold and silver, expressed as the number of ounces of silver required to equal the value of one ounce of gold. As of this writing, the ratio is 85.6:1. The ratio tends to be a reliable barometer for global economic, social, and political stability and, […] The post The Gold-Silver Ratio Explained appeared first on JHCB ..read more

Gold is forged in the death of stars. It was sailing around in the gas and dust that created our sun and the planets of our solar system. Once just a theory, scientists finally observed evidence of its formation in August of 2017 when the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected the remnant cores of […] The post There’s Gold in That? appeared first on JHCB ..read more

Gold has always held intrinsic value and, since ancient times, has been revered for its beauty, association with the divine, and as a representation of wealth and status. Gold coins were among the first currency in ancient times. Because gold’s value is universally accepted, its use as currency eventually became standardized. In 1816, Britain officially […] The post Gold’s Relationship to the US Dollar appeared first on JHCB ..read more