Copper vs Silver: Which is the Better Investment?

Silver and copper have both been used to store wealth for thousands of years. Offering different properties, market conditions, and price histories, these two metals come with their own advantages and downsides. Collectors often come to us wanting to know the differences between copper vs silver. Which is better: copper or silver?

Today’s guide will give you all the information you need to compare copper vs silver. We’ll discuss the metals’ properties, industrial uses, market dynamics, and everything else the informed collector should know before pouring their money into either commodity. 

Properties: Copper vs Silver

Copper and silver vary considerably in their key properties. Below, we’ll take a look at both metals. While copper offers high conductivity, malleability, and corrosion resistance, silver is also highly conductible and boasts an extremely lustrous appearance. 

Copper: High Conductivity, Malleability, and Corrosion Resistance

Industrial manufacturers everywhere can’t seem to get enough copper bullion. The metal’s exceptional conductivity is a major reason why, too. Copper conducts electricity effectively, making it the ideal material to use in electrical wiring, air conditioning units, and countless other technologies. 

Copper can also be highly malleable. There are hundreds of quality copper bars and rounds on the market at Hero Bullion, and copper’s extreme malleability is one property that helps producers make such detailed, intricate designs on their copper rounds, bars, and other products. 

Finally, consider the high corrosion resistance offered by copper. Over time, precious metals like silver tend to corrode when exposed to the elements. Comparably, copper stays relatively pristine, even if you don’t make the best choices when storing, transporting, or securing your investments. 

Silver: Excellent Conductivity, Lustrous Appearance

Silver isn’t quite as important to global industrial development as copper, but there are several benefits to owning silver. The material boasts two main properties that help it stand out among other precious metals: excellent conductivity and lustrous appearance. As we compare copper vs silver, conductivity and appearance are important things to consider. 

The high conductivity of copper is well-known, but silver is also great as a conductive metal. It’s used in a number of important technologies, including most modern smartphones. The lustrous appearance of silver also makes it an excellent bullion category for collectors. The unforgettable look of coins like the American Silver Eagle is tough to match, especially when compared to a less lustrous metal like copper. 

Copper vs Silver: Industrial Uses

Industrial use-cases for copper are extensive and essential to global development. When we compare copper vs silver, industrial applications are an important part of the equation. We’ll cover the industrial importance of copper vs silver below. 

Copper: Wiring, Plumbing, Construction Materials

Copper’s high malleability and exceptional conductivity makes it the ideal material to construct electrical wiring, plumbing, and a number of important construction materials. Copper has exploded in popularity in recent years, and this trend is largely attributable to the extensive list of technologies that require significant amounts of copper to function. Even green technologies use copper bullion, too. 

Silver: Jewelry, Photography, Electrical Contacts

Silver also finds its own place in electrical systems, but its main applications are in jewelry, bullion products, and photography. When we compare two metals like copper vs silver, it’s important to see the unique use-cases that they offer. For silver, use in jewelry is a major part of its overall value. 

Most investors consider silver a good investment because of its intrinsic value, scarcity, and beauty. But some collectors also appreciate silver as a functional metal used in a range of different products. 

Value and Market: Copper vs Silver

Any comparison between copper vs silver would be incomplete without a discussion of the markets for these impressive metals. Below, we’ll explain the benefits and downsides of investing in the copper vs silver markets. 

Silver: Precious Metal, Fluctuating Market Prices

Silver is a precious metal. Its rarity means that it contains objective and intrinsic value. This is a benefit to investing in silver over copper, but it doesn’t make the silver market any more stable. The silver market is considered highly volatile. That’s right; fluctuating market prices make silver a relatively unpredictable market. Especially in the short term, you can anticipate that the spot price of silver will change from day to day. 

Copper: Industrial Commodity, Influenced by Supply and Demand

Unlike silver, copper isn’t particularly rare. Its value isn’t intrinsic but is instead determined by traditional market factors, such as supply and demand. When supply is low and demand skyrockets for copper bullion, its price will increase. Copper is also an industrial commodity, rather than just a precious metal. When you buy quality copper bars, you aren’t just playing the market – you’re also investing in the industrial applications and use-cases that come with copper bullion. 

Copper vs silver: which is the better industrial commodity? We’d have to give it to copper, which is used in hundreds of important infrastructural development technologies. If you believe that the future of global infrastructure looks bright, then anticipate the demand for copper will increase and copper’s price might climb in the future. 

Environmental Impact

As we continue our discussion of copper vs silver, it’s important to address environmental impacts. Both silver and copper have important roles in the future of green technology, but they also come with their own distinct risks and disadvantages for the environment. 

Copper: Mining and Recycling Considerations

Copper mines are extremely bad for the environment. Scientists have long understood that the massive operations used to extract copper require considerable land destruction, but recent evidence also suggests that living near an active copper mine can be harmful to human health as well. This is one of several reasons why some government leaders have attempted to ban copper mining within certain high-production areas of their countries. 

On the plus side, copper can be recycled. In fact, it’s one of the only metals in the world that is 100% recyclable. As the Earth and its leaders go green, copper may play an important role in creating a more sustainable planet. If you’re looking to invest in the future of green technology, copper might be a good choice. 

Silver: Role in Renewable Energy, Sustainability Efforts

Comparing copper vs silver also requires us to take a look at how both metals compare in terms of renewable energy and sustainability efforts. Silver plays an essential role in green technology, including electric vehicles and solar energy tools. Silver can be a good way to invest in sustainability efforts. Its high conductivity makes it ideal for use in green technology, and the electrical vehicle sector continues to account for a significant portion of global demand for silver. 

Both copper and silver play important roles in sustainable development. Silver’s high conductivity makes it a potential alternative to copper, although the high entry cost of silver makes a full substitution financially insoluble.

Health and Medical Applications

Next, we’ll compare copper vs silver within the realm of health and medical applications. Both copper and silver are used for their antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, but silver is generally preferred for expensive wound dressings and medical devices. 

Copper: Antimicrobial Properties, Healthcare Uses

Copper is used for its antimicrobial properties. In the world of healthcare, antimicrobial technologies are exceedingly important. Copper can fight against the presence of anti-resistant bacteria, which is a leading cause of illness – especially in the developing world. Some researchers have even used copper to create antimicrobial technologies called “copper armor,” which has sometimes proven effective at combating microbial infections that are resistant to traditional medication. 

Medical professionals also use copper wire for women’s healthcare. The copper IUD is one of the world’s most popular birth control technologies. IUDs are extremely effective in preventing pregnancy, which helps to contribute to the metal’s explosive demand within the medical sector. 

Silver: Wound Dressings, Medical Devices

Trace amounts of silver are also used in a chemical called silver sulfadiazine. Silver sulfadiazine helps doctors dress wounds without risking further infection, and it’s quickly become one of the world’s preferred wound dressing technologies. Medical devices also use silver. The list is long: antibacterial cream, dressings, endotracheal tubes, x-ray film, catheters, and hundreds of other essential medical products use silver bullion. 

When we continue to compare copper vs silver, consumers need to be aware of how medical applications influence both value and the overall market. Demand for silver and copper will likely not wane anytime soon, and this is precisely because the medical world relies on these two metals to help millions of patients every year. 

Cultural Significance

The cultural significance of copper vs silver is also an important consideration as you compare the materials against one another. After all, cultural importance and perception helps to give these precious metals high liquidity and value. The more recognizable and culturally significant a metal is, the easier it’s going to be for you when you finally choose to sell your silver or copper bullion products. 

Copper: Cultural Associations and Symbolism 

Copper has been one of humanity’s most important metals for over 10,000 years. When mankind’s first weapons and tools were made, what material do you think ancient civilizations thought to use? Copper, of course! Copper symbolizes history, progress, and connectivity – and it has for thousands of years. This kind of symbolism makes copper bullion an important asset to hold. Even now, the industrial uses associated with copper make it a prime investment vehicle for people who want to bet on the future of infrastructural development. 

Many copper products also invoke important symbolism and cultural significance. The “Don’t Tread On Me” Copper Bar, for example, pays homage to one of America’s most enduring symbols of freedom from oppression. Other copper bars highlight different cultural symbols, and the combination of historical iconography with the beauty of copper makes the material a valuable collector’s item. 

The high symbolic value of copper also leads at least partially to its inflated premiums. Even when copper’s industrial use-cases are down, investors tend to pay premiums for beautiful copper products. This can be a victory or a curse, depending on your perspective. On one hand, copper rounds can be extremely valuable because of their numismatic significance and design intricacy. On the other side of the coin, copper’s cultural significance means you’ll pay more upfront. 

Silver: Historical Monetary Use, Cultural Symbolism 

Silver also offers significant cultural symbolism. When we compare copper vs silver, it’s important for investors to remember that both of the materials are extremely important to world culture. For silver, this importance is largely associated with the precious metal’s extensive history as a store of value. Even the Ancient Egyptians considered silver to be a valuable metal, and they actually considered it to be worth even more than gold. 

Many silver coins, bars, and rounds also invoke important pieces of cultural imagery. The American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple, and Silver Britannia are all valued because of their cultural significance and brilliant silver imagery. There’s a reason why silver is so much more expensive than copper. The metal is far rarer, and it’s more expensive to mine silver than to mine copper. 

Copper’s popularity as a major metal investment asset is a relatively new phenomena. While the material has been essential to human technological development for tens of thousands of years, it’s only recently that the material has been considered as a solid option for investors to put their money on the future of technology and infrastructure. Silver, on the other hand, has been used to store value for thousands of years – and quality silver coins have been a bullion tradition for decades. 

Final Thoughts: Copper vs Silver

Today, we’ve covered nearly everything investors need to understand when comparing copper vs silver. We tend to think it’s tough to go wrong with either of these popular metals. Copper and silver bars, rounds, and coins have been used to store wealth and build non-correlated asset portfolios for hundreds of years, and neither metal is going away any time soon. 

Do you still want to know the difference between copper vs silver? We’re always happy to answer any questions you might have, so feel free to reach out at any time.