The gold to silver ratio is the price of gold divided by the price of silver: the number of ounces of silver that one ounce of gold buys. In August 2026 that number was 67.4 on World Bank monthly average prices, with gold at $4,411 and silver at $65.40 per troy ounce. Traders watch it because it is the cleanest single measure of which metal is expensive against the other. This page shows what the ratio has done across 66 years of monthly data, and where the trading reading breaks down.
Key takeaways
- The ratio is one number made from two prices: gold divided by silver, both in dollars per troy ounce. August 2026’s monthly average was 67.4.
- There is no fixed normal. Decade averages run from 28.2 in the 1960s to 81.1 in the 2020s, and the 1960–2026 average is 55.4.
- The series high is April 2020 at 111.5, and it came from silver falling to $15.10, not gold soaring.
- Acting on the reading costs money twice: a swap is two dealer transactions, and outside an IRA a gain is taxed as a collectible at up to 28% federally (IRS Topic 409).
What the gold to silver ratio measures
The formula is the gold price divided by the silver price, with both quotes in the same currency and the same unit: dollars per troy ounce.
A ratio of 67.4 means one ounce of gold has the same market price as 67.4 ounces of silver. The ratio itself has no unit. It rises when gold gains on silver and falls when silver gains on gold, whichever direction the two prices move in. If gold rises faster than silver, the ratio rises. If both metals fall and silver falls farther, the ratio still rises.
How to work out the ratio today
Take any two current quotes in dollars per troy ounce and divide one by the other. This page publishes monthly averages, not live quotes; its latest monthly figure is 67.4, from August 2026 World Bank average prices. For a value dated today, run the division yourself.
A hypothetical example with round numbers: gold at $4,400 and silver at $65 gives 4,400 divided by 65, which is 67.7. Quotes per gram or per kilo must be converted to the same unit for both metals before dividing, or the result is meaningless.
A dealer’s buy and sell prices are not the spot price. A ratio computed from dealer quotes reflects the dealer’s spread as well as the market, so use spot prices for the math. Gold IRA spread and buyback covers the gap between the two.
What the ratio has been
All ratio figures on this page are computed by Gold Unpacked from World Bank Commodity Price Data — the Pink Sheet — monthly averages for gold and silver in US dollars per troy ounce, downloaded September 22, 2026. The series runs from January 1960 to August 2026. Every figure is a monthly average, not an intraday high or low.
Decade by decade, in monthly averages:
| Period | Average | Lowest month | Highest month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.2 | 16.4 | 38.9 |
| 1970s | 31.6 | 18.4 | 46.2 |
| 1980s | 52.7 | 17.4 | 75.7 |
| 1990s | 73.6 | 43.7 | 98.4 |
| 2000s | 61.5 | 47.4 | 79.2 |
| 2010s | 67.5 | 34.7 | 90.6 |
| 2020s to August 2026 | 81.1 | 51.6 | 111.5 |
The average across the whole 1960–2026 series is 55.4. Since 1970 it is 60.2. Since 2000 it is 68.7. Since 2016 it is 80.1. The highest month in the series is April 2020 at 111.5, when gold averaged $1,683 and silver $15.10. The lowest is June 1968 at 16.4. April 2011 was 34.7, the lowest month of the 2010s.
The recent record: 2025 averaged 88.1 for the full year, January to August 2026 averaged 62.0, and August 2026 came in at 67.4, on gold at $4,411 and silver at $65.40. There is no single normal level. The average depends entirely on the period chosen. A reader anchoring to the 1970s, whose decade average was 31.6, and a reader anchoring to the 2020s, whose average is 81.1, are using numbers 50 points apart. The same reading can be high against one decade and low against another.
Why the two metals move differently
The ratio moves because the two metals are different commodities with different buyers. The two demand splits below come from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (silver; gold), and they have different scopes: the silver split covers US domestic uses in 2025, while the gold split covers estimated global consumption. They show the shape of demand, not a like-for-like comparison.
Silver, 2025 US domestic uses:
- Electrical and electronics: 25%
- Other industrial uses and photography: 19%
- Physical investment in bars: 18%
- Photovoltaics: 15%
- Coins and medals: 14%
- Jewelry and silverware: 6%
- Brazing and solder: 3%
Gold, estimated global consumption excluding exchange-traded funds and similar investments:
- Jewelry: 40%
- Physical bars: 24%
- Central banks and other institutions: 21%
- Official coins and medals: 7%
- Electrical and electronics: 7%
- Other: 1%
The takeaway is in the shape of the two lists. Most silver demand is industrial, and industrial demand follows the business cycle. Gold demand concentrates in jewelry, physical bars, and central banks. Two demand bases that answer to different buyers are one reason the two prices rarely move in lockstep.
When the ratio was set by law
The ratio was once a government price fix, not a market number. The Coinage Act of 1792, section 11, fixed the proportional value of gold to silver in US coins at 15 to 1 by weight. The US Mint’s history records that this differed from the world market, so US gold coins were undervalued, exported, and melted. The Coinage Act of 1834 changed the gold content of US coins, which moved the legal ratio to about 16 to 1.
For most of the period people cite as the ratio’s history, the number was a legal price fix rather than a market outcome. Figures from before the 1970s and modern ones are not the same kind of number.
How traders read the ratio, and where it breaks down
The reading itself is simple. A ratio far above its recent average means silver is cheap against gold. A ratio far below it means gold is cheap against silver. That is what the number says, and it is why ratio-swapping — selling the metal the number calls expensive to buy the one it calls cheap — has been a long-running strategy.
What the data shows after past extremes, using annual averages from the same series: after the April 2011 low of 34.7, the ratio climbed away from it, with 2011 averaging 45.0, 2012 averaging 53.8, and 2013 averaging 59.7. After the April 2020 high of 111.5, it did not fall back quickly at all. Annual averages ran 71.8 in 2021, 83.1 in 2022, 83.1 in 2023, 84.7 in 2024, and 88.1 in 2025, before January to August 2026 averaged 62.0. The move away from an extreme came in one case within two years and in the other only after five.
Three limits keep that reading honest.
First, the ratio is two prices compressed into one number, so it never says which price moved. April 2020’s 111.5 came from silver falling to $15.10, not from gold soaring.
Second, there is no fixed level for the ratio to return to. The decade averages climb from 28.2 in the 1960s to 81.1 in the 2020s, so above average means something different depending on the starting year chosen. A mean-reversion trade needs a mean, and this series does not hold still long enough to supply one.
Third, extremes can last. The 2020s have averaged 81.1 through August 2026, and 2025 alone averaged 88.1, both far above the full-series average of 55.4. A reading can sit at an extreme for years.
This page is research, not investment advice, and it does not tell anyone when to trade.
What a ratio trade actually costs
Swapping metal is two dealer transactions, not one. The sell side of the old metal takes the dealer’s discount below spot, and the buy side of the new metal pays the premium above it. Both come out of the trade before any ratio thesis gets a chance to work. Gold IRA spread and buyback explains the spread, and how to sell gold covers the sell side.
Tax treats the swap as a sale. Outside a retirement account, a gain on gold or silver is taxed as a collectible, at a maximum federal rate of 28% (IRS Topic 409); gold IRA tax rules covers the detail. Inside an IRA, the custodian handles the trade, fees apply per transaction, and no tax is due while the money stays in the account — the gold and silver IRA guide covers how those accounts work. One more check before any silver swap: IRA silver must meet the fineness rules for retirement accounts, covered in IRA-eligible gold.
Related research
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Frequently asked questions
What is the gold to silver ratio?
The gold price divided by the silver price, with both quotes in the same currency and the same unit (dollars per troy ounce). It is the number of ounces of silver that one ounce of gold buys. A ratio of 67.4 means one ounce of gold has the same market price as 67.4 ounces of silver.
What is the gold to silver ratio today?
This page publishes monthly averages, not live quotes. Its latest monthly figure is 67.4, from August 2026 World Bank Pink Sheet average prices (gold $4,411, silver $65.40 per troy ounce). For a value dated today, divide any two current quotes in dollars per troy ounce.
What is a normal gold to silver ratio?
It depends on the period chosen. Decade averages run from 28.2 in the 1960s to 81.1 in the 2020s (through August 2026). The average across the full 1960–2026 series is 55.4, the average since 2000 is 68.7, and the average since 2016 is 80.1.
What was the highest gold to silver ratio?
In this series, April 2020, at a monthly average of 111.5 — gold averaged $1,683 and silver $15.10 per troy ounce that month. The lowest month in the series is June 1968 at 16.4.
Does a high ratio mean silver is cheap?
Against gold, yes, by definition: a high ratio means an ounce of gold buys more ounces of silver than it did before. Three limits matter: the ratio does not say which price moved, there is no fixed normal level (decade averages run from 28.2 to 81.1), and extremes can last — the 2020s have averaged 81.1 through August 2026.