Real Assets
Charting the Gold-to-Silver Ratio Over 200 Years
Charting 200 Years of the Gold-to-Silver Ratio
Gold and silver have been precious and monetary metals for millennia, with the gold-to-silver ratio having been measured since the days of Ancient Rome.
Historically, the ratio between gold and silver played an important role in ensuring coins had their appropriate value, and it remains an important technical metric for metals investors today.
This graphic charts 200 years of the gold-to-silver ratio, plotting the pivotal historical events that have shaped its peaks and valleys.
What is the Gold-to-Silver Ratio?
The gold-to-silver ratio represents the amount of silver ounces equivalent to a single ounce of gold, enabling us to see if one of the two precious metals is particularly under or overvalued.
Currently, the ratio sits at about 80 ounces of silver equivalent to one ounce of gold. This is after the ratio spiked to new highs of 123.3 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While gold is primarily viewed as an inflation and recession hedge, silver is also an industrial metal and asset. The ratio between the two can reveal whether industrial metals demand is on the rise or if an economic slowdown or recession may be looming.
The History of the Gold-to-Silver Ratio
Long before the gold-to-silver ratio was allowed to float freely, the ratio between these two metals was fixed by empires and governments to control the value of their currency and coinage.
The earliest recorded instance of the gold-to-silver ratio dates back to 3200 BCE, when Menes, the first king of Ancient Egypt set a ratio of 2.5:1. Since then, the ratio has only seen gold’s value rise as empires and governments became more familiar with the scarcity and difficulty of production for the two metals.
Gold and Silver’s Ancient Beginnings
Ancient Rome was one of the earliest ancient civilizations to set a gold-to-silver ratio, starting as low as 8:1 in 210 BCE. Over the decades, varying gold and silver inflows from Rome’s conquests caused the ratio to fluctuate between 8-12 ounces of silver for every ounce of gold.
By 46 BCE, Julius Caesar had established a standard gold-to-silver ratio of 11.5:1, shortly before it was bumped to 11.75:1 under emperor Augustus.
As centuries progressed, ratios around the world fluctuated between 6-12 ounces of silver for every ounce of gold, with many Middle Eastern and Asian empires and nations often valuing silver more highly than Western counterparts, thus having a lower ratio.
The Rise of the Fixed Ratio
By the 18th century, the gold-to-silver ratio was being redefined by the U.S. government’s Coinage Act of 1792 which set the ratio at 15:1. This act was the basis for U.S. coinage, defining coins’ values by their metallic compositions and weights.
Around the same time period, France had enacted a ratio of 15.5:1, however, neither of these fixed ratios lasted long. The growth of the industrial revolution and the volatility of two world wars resulted in massive fluctuations in currencies, gold, and silver. By the 20th century, the ratio had already reached highs of around 40:1, with the start of World War II further pushing the ratio to a high of nearly 100:1.
Recently in 2020, the ratio set new highs of more than 123:1, as pandemic fears saw investors pile into gold as a safe-haven asset. While the gold-to-silver ratio has since fallen to roughly 80:1, runaway inflation and a potential recession has put gold in the spotlight again, likely bringing further volatility to this historic ratio.
Real Assets
How Much Gold is in Fort Knox?
The United States Bullion Depository holds more than half of the Treasury’s $428B in gold reserves.
How Much Gold Is in Fort Knox?
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to visit Fort Knox “to make sure the gold is there.”
Officially, the United States Bullion Depository (commonly known as Fort Knox) holds over half of the Treasury’s $428 billion gold reserves.
In this graphic, we put that amount into perspective by comparing Fort Knox’s reserves with central bank gold reserves worldwide. The data comes from the U.S. Mint and the World Gold Council. For illustrative purposes, we considered a pallet of 1,190 gold bars (400 troy ounces each) weighing approximately 14.8 tonnes.
What Is Fort Knox?
Located in Kentucky, Fort Knox is a U.S. Army installation that serves as the primary storage site for America’s gold reserves. The facility was established in the 1930s to protect gold from potential foreign attacks.
The first gold shipment arrived in 1937 via U.S. Mail from the Philadelphia Mint and the New York Assay Office. During World War II, Fort Knox safeguarded important U.S. documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. It has also housed international treasures, such as the Magna Carta and the crown, sword, scepter, orb, and cape of St. Stephen, King of Hungary, before they were returned in 1978.
Currently, it holds 4,175 tonnes of gold, equivalent to nearly half of China’s gold reserves and four times the Swiss central bank’s reserves.
| Reserves | Gold (Tonnes) |
|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 U.S. Reserves | 8,133 |
| 🏛️ Fort Knox | 4,175 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 2,280 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 846 |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 1,040 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 876 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 104 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 220 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 130 |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | 120 |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | 235 |
Only small samples have been removed for purity testing during audits; no major transfers have occurred for years.
Gold Bar Specifications
- Size: 7 inches × 3 5/8 inches × 1 3/4 inches
- Weight: 400 ounces (27.5 pounds)
Extreme Security
Only a select few know the full security procedures, and no single person knows how to fully open the vault.
In 1974, a group of journalists and a Congressional delegation were allowed inside—marking the first official visit since Fort Knox’s creation. Previously, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults.
In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and several Congressional representatives became the second group to visit the vault.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
If gold was shared equally, how much would you get? Check out this graphic to find out.
Real Assets
Charted: Top Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel to the U.S.
President Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.
Charted: Top U.S. Suppliers of Aluminum and Steel
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, marking one of the most discussed measures of his first month back in the White House.
But which countries are most affected by these tariffs?
This map illustrates the top suppliers of aluminum and steel to the United States in 2024. The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. Aluminum includes unwrought aluminum, plates, sheets, and strips; bars, rods, and profiles; foil; wire; pipes and tubes; castings and forgings; and tube or pipe fittings.
Canada: The Largest Partner
Canada is by far the top supplier of both steel and aluminum to the United States. The neighboring country exported $9.4 billion worth of aluminum to the U.S. in 2024, significantly ahead of the second-largest exporter, the European Union, which exported $1.5 billion.
Canada also exported $7.1 billion worth of steel last year, compared to $7 billion from the European Union.
| Country | Steel Imports (USD) | Aluminum Imports (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇨🇦 Canada | $7.1B | $9.4B |
| 🇲🇽 Mexico | $3.5B | $397M |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | $3.0B | - |
| 🇨🇳 China | $799M | $809M |
| 🇹🇼 Taiwan | $1.3B | - |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | $2.9B | $781M |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | $1.9B | $318M |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | $1.7B | - |
| 🇮🇳 India | $489M | $445M |
| 🇪🇺 European Union | $7B | $1.5B |
| 🇦🇪 UAE | - | $917M |
| 🇧🇭 Bahrain | - | $535M |
| 🇦🇷 Argentina | - | $468M |
| 🇹🇭 Thailand | - | $271M |
| 🇬🇧 UK | $440M | - |
Mexico, South Korea, and Brazil are also among the top suppliers of steel to the United States. Meanwhile, the country imports aluminum from other key partners, including China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Bahrain, and Argentina.
A recent report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) noted that the U.S. produces less than 2% of the world’s primary aluminum.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
If you enjoyed this graphic, be sure to check out this chart illustrating the GDP impact of Trump’s tariffs on China.
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