When you’re looking to invest in a precious metal, you have the choice of going either with gold or with silver. In many cases, the choice is a personal one, since in the long run they can both be very good investments, especially during times of economic crisis. If you want a protection against inflation, gold and silver make good choices.

They are a bit different in some areas though, so if you want to choose between them, look at the availability, volatility and the market size, to decide which one works best for you.

First of all, the market for silver is smaller when compared with that of gold. Bullion gold is much more easily available than silver it and it’s also more expensive. During the last hundred years or so, gold was at its highest 97 times more valuable than a similar quantity of silver.

Another thing to consider is the volatility of the precious metals market. The silver market is much more volatile, because it’s a smaller market. It’s quite normal for the silver value to go up or down suddenly. For this reason, silver investments can be a bit risky but they can also be more worth it, since they have the potential of growing quickly. In 2010 for example, the silver prices increased much more than those of gold.

Another reason why silver is less valuable is because there is a lot more available than it is gold. The silver deposits known so far exceed those of gold. Since there is not shortage of supply, the value of silver is not likely to increase as much as gold in the long run, especially if the gold deposits start to decrease.

As you can see, picking between silver and gold is a matter of personal choice. Gold is probably safer in the long run, but silver has the potential of higher profits in the short run.