In the 18th century the silver mines were overproducing and there was not the demand for the amount of silver being produced. Silver miners managed to persuade the US government to start using more silver bullion in their currency silver coins. When this was done, the value of silver begin to increase. However, the silver dollars were large and cumbersome to use, and they didn't rise tremendously in popularity.
However, by the year 2000, the amount of silver available had greatly decreased. The US Mint has been forced to purchase silver on the commercial market. The evidence shows that this has greatly increased the value of silver, along with rapid inflation. Like many other investments, many experts recommend that you buy and hold silver. The reason for this is because despite the ups and downs that precious metals have over the years, they have always maintained their value.
They do not have the wild swings in value that you will see with paper currency. If there is an economic depression or a financial crisis, both silver and gold will suddenly skyrocket in demand. In fact, during the Great Depression that occured in the US in 1929, precious metals became so valuable that the US government began collecting it. Because of this incident, many investors today who purchase silver believe that it along with other precious metals are the cure to what they call fiat currencies. The value of silver bullion has fluctuated widely over the years. It has a tendency to follow the pattern of gold.