But what I think could be the fly in the ointment is the fact that the USGS has targeted silver to be the first element on the periodic table to effectively go extinct, at least in terms of its ready availability via conventional mining. Couple that with its massive industrial use base, and we're talking actual, practical, supply-side constriction that puts enormous pressure on price.

Gold is mostly a store of wealth, and the "barbarous relic" argument holds some sway among those not schooled in monetary history. If all the gold disappeared tomorrow, to many it would scarcely matter. But silver... now we're talking about how to go forward with the device and gadget industries, the solar industry, and a plethora of other modern cornerstones of our advancing tech world without ample supplies of the most electrically and thermally conductive, most reflective of all metals.

Metals are indeed the long play, and at my age I'm thinking it might well be the grandkids who reap the benefits of my stacking. For my own wealth-building, I'm increasingly betting on cryptos. But at these smacked-down prices, I'll continue to stack, you betcha.