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(Izzy
Friedman is a friend and mentor to Theodore Butler. He has followed silver
for many decades. He has written articles for us in the past. Investment
Rarities does not necessarily endorse these views.)
My good friend, Mr.
Butler, thought it was a good time for me to write something. Since we talk
to each other about silver so much, I am happy to have the honor of having my thoughts recorded, and I hope I
don’t steer anyone wrong with my opinions.
If you study silver like I
do every day, the recent price drop affects you in different ways. It makes
you afraid of losing money, or angry if you believe in manipulation. For some
people, it makes them happy they are in a position to buy more. A sudden sell
off like this last one also makes you think and re-evaluate. I wonder if the
original reasons I bought silver are still okay. That is good because things
can change. In fact, I think things have changed in silver. Believe it or
not, I think the silver story has gotten better than before.
I agree with what Mr.
Butler writes about the manipulation. I think the recent sell-off proves it
more. Nothing changed in silver to account for such a sharp decline. It’s
only the questionable dealings on the COMEX. But, Mr. Butler writes about the
manipulation and I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about
the opportunity of a lifetime that silver represents. When I look at the
facts in silver, I reach a conclusion on price that many would consider
ridiculous. Mr. Butler told me not to print the prices I discuss with him in
private. He says that I will appear too extreme and lose credibility. He says
he doesn’t necessarily disagree; just that the numbers are so high that
people will laugh and lose the real message. I tell him that extreme
projections can come true, and this silver projection can make regular people
rich.
The best way to analyze
silver is to compare it to something else, like gold. They have been used and
compared for thousands of years. People say how gold is no one else’s
liability, has been money for thousands of years and cannot be created at
will. The same things can be said about silver. Central banks own tremendous amounts
of gold and hardly any silver anymore.
Silver has come to be used
so much by industry over the past 50 or 60 years that most of the inventories
in silver have been used up. Now we have more gold above ground than we have
silver above ground. Silver is more rare than gold. There are 5 billion
ounces of gold above ground and only 1 billion ounces of known silver. We
have over 62 years of gold production above ground. In silver, we have less
than two years of mining production.
The rarer and more industrially
needed item should be $650 and the more plentiful and less used item should
be $13. I say that silver must go at least into the high triple digits to
make a balance between the real inventory and the price. Silver will be $50
to $100, but it will be a mistake to think the party is over then.
So few believe that silver
can go to such high numbers that it creates an opportunity for those who buy
silver to become rich. In my opinion, that’s without taking big
chances. Do you think there would be such an opportunity if everyone knew of
it? All you need is a good silver position and to allow enough time for the
fundamentals to work and for enough people to learn about silver.
You don’t have to
put all your money into silver, just enough. And you must put it into the
right kind of silver. You must have real silver in your own possession or
silver stored for you in the right way. If you want to speculate on margin,
then speculate. But don’t pretend you are making a real silver
investment for the long term. And the long term is where the big money will
be made. I hope that this article will help those holding silver to feel good
about their holdings and helps to convince those not holding silver to get
some.
Israel Friedman
www.investmentrarities.com
(No one can safely predict the future and
it’s possible that Israel
Friedman’s Butler’s
analysis will prove incorrect. Silver can go up, but silver can go down. It
is up to you to read, analyze, and arrive at your own conclusions. Prudence
requires we emphasize that precious metals may or may not prove to be
suitable for your consideration.)
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