Silver stacking for the long haul - anyone else feeling good about their moves?

• •Been seeing a lot of chatter lately, mostly about gold, but I wanted to throw my two cents in on silver.
• •My strategy from day one has been pretty simple: dollar-cost averaging into physical silver, mostly 1 oz and 10 oz rounds and bars, held securely.
• •I know some people bash silver for its volatility compared to gold, and yeah, it’s had its moments.

Been seeing a lot of chatter lately, mostly about gold, but I wanted to throw my two cents in on silver. I started really getting into stacking about five years ago, right around when things were looking a little shaky for my tourism business here in Savannah. Had about $75,000 in a traditional IRA at the time, and after some serious research and talking to some folks I trust, I decided to diversify a chunk of it into a Gold IRA, but not just gold – I included a good portion of silver too. My initial thought was: if gold is the king, silver is the prince that comes with more potential volatility, but also more upside on percentage gains.

My strategy from day one has been pretty simple: dollar-cost averaging into physical silver, mostly 1 oz and 10 oz rounds and bars, held securely. I’m not playing the daily market swings; I’m looking at this as a long-term hedge against inflation and a cushion for when the next economic wave hits. As a business owner, I've seen enough cycles to know that what goes up can definitely come down, and having tangible assets outside of traditional paper investments gives me a lot of peace of mind. Currently, my total precious metals portfolio (gold and silver combined) is sitting somewhere between $180k-$200k, with silver probably making up about 25-30% of that pie.

I know some people bash silver for its volatility compared to gold, and yeah, it’s had its moments. There've been times I've looked at the spot price and thought, "well, this isn't exactly shooting the lights out." But I always come back to the industrial demand aspect and the fact that it's still accessible for smaller purchases compared to gold. It feels like a more "everyman's" precious metal, if that makes sense. Plus, the tangible feel of a heavy silver bar in your hand? Can't beat it. It just feels like wealth.

So, for those of you who've been stacking silver, what's your long-term outlook? Are you seeing it as more of an industrial play or primarily a monetary metal? And for those who have a significant portion of their IRA in silver, what's your take on its performance compared to gold in the current climate? Always interested to hear different perspectives.