Should I buy gold or silver?

Both gold and silver have a rich history as "real money." In ancient times, both metals were used as a medium of exchange. Since then, buying gold has been a suitable way to preserve purchasing power, fulfilling this role for more than 6,000 years.

Gold is excempt from VAT 

When deciding whether to buy gold or silver, several factors come into play. Gold is more commonly purchased and is exempt from VAT, making it relatively inexpensive to buy. Silver, on the other hand, is initially seen as a raw material. For this reason, silver bars are subject to 21% VAT, making them less attractive for individual investors. Silver coins where excempt from VAT but are subject tot 21% VAT since 2025. Old used Silver coins can still be traded under the margin scheme which means that VAT is only calculated on the dealer's profit margin, not on the total value.

Silver, an undervalued raw material?

Today, silver is approximately 90 times cheaper than gold. This makes silver somewhat undervalued, which could make it an interesting choice. Silver is also heavily used in various industrial applications. More than 50% of annual silver mine production is used in products like mobile phones, solar panels, and batteries, making silver increasingly scarce. This is not the case with gold. Of all the gold ever mined, about 96-98% is still in circulation today. This gold is often melted down but does not serve a practical purpose.

The price difference between silver and gold

The fact that silver is so much cheaper than gold is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Practically, it poses some challenges. A kilogram of silver costs less than EUR 930 at the time of writing, whereas gold is worth about EUR 90,000 per kilogram mid 2025.

It is common to diversify between gold and silver. Buying precious metals is typically done to safeguard wealth for the long term, usually a period of at least 10 years. The focus is often on gold. A common distribution is 75% gold and 25% silver. For smaller purchase amounts, there tends to be more focus on silver, with a 50-50 distribution being common.

Disclaimer: The Silver Mountain does not provide investment advice and this article should not be considered as such. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.