Many have mistakenly dismissed silver as just another commodity like oil, for example. If one looks at how silver has traded since 2001, in comparison with oil, one might agree with that mistaken believe. During the same periods, both goods traded higher or lower, together. For example, from 2001 to 2008, both silver and oil rose significantly. During those seven years, silver increased more than four times in value while oil rose more than seven times.