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2011 is turning out to be an amazing year for Gold Why! Already this year, I've uploaded six HD quality videos. Some of my favorites include my tenth ounce gold coin video and my copper bullion collection video. Also, I've been hard at work on brand new articles such as my new one about buying fractional silver coins. Last, I've been really focused on getting through my major backlog of amazing Gold Why questions. Today, I'm super excited to answer another great question! I want to sincerely thank everyone who has been sending over the great questions, I truly appreciate your support. And now, let's dive into today's Gold Why question...

Question: I have 5 gram silver bars & 1 5 gram gold bar - Why are the silver bars bigger than the gold? - thank you

Answer: I really like this question because it's core to my personal investment philosophy around gold and silver. First, however, let me answer your question. Gold has more density than silver. Gold is an extremely dense metal. What does this mean? Basically, you can pack more gold (by weight) into a smaller space. While gold is a super dense material, aluminum bullion has very low density. When you hold a large brick of aluminum bullion, it's surprising how lightweight it is! Silver is somewhere in the middle. It's a dense metal, but not as dense as gold.

The Specific Density of Gold and Silver

For those of you that like numbers, the density of gold is 19.32 g/cm(3). By comparison, the density of silver is 10.49 g/cm(3). While both gold and silver are dense metals, gold is more dense. When you check out the image to the left, you can see that the Gold Eagle is smaller than the Silver Eagle. Both coins are one troy ounce of metal. It's because of density that the gold coin is smaller.

Gold Bullion Is Magical

I started off above saying that this question is core to my investment philosophy around gold. Let me explain... Basically, aside from the pure economic facts (and there are many), I believe gold is a magical metal. This is hard to explain unless you've held a one troy ounce gold coin before. When you hold one troy ounce of pure gold bullion in your hands, you will be blown away. The weight (and density) of gold is amazing, the luster is even more amazing. After holding my first gold coin, I knew gold must bring good luck. And, that's really it. The density of gold helps make this metal magic. It helps make gold real money. Thanks so much for the question and please keep them coming!

Want to see the difference in the density of gold and silver for yourself? I just uploaded a brand new Gold Why video that showcases my 2005 Gold Eagle and my 2008 Silver Eagle. You can see in this video that even though the coins are the same weight, the gold coin is clearly smaller (more dense) than the silver one. Check out my Gold Eagle Video today!

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