The 60-Year Race Between Gold and Stocks

Economist Peter Schiff just served up some eye-opening math about what's really happened to wealth over the past six decades. While everyone's celebrating the Dow Jones approaching 50,000, Schiff wants you to consider what that actually means when you measure it against gold.

Here's the breakdown: The Dow first crossed 1,000 back in 1966. Today it's knocking on 50,000's door—an impressive 50-fold gain that looks like proof of economic prosperity. But gold tells a different story. In 1966, gold traded at $35 per ounce. Today? It's hovering above $4,200.

"That's a 120x gain," Schiff noted in a post on X. At the time of writing, gold was trading at $4,230 per troy ounce.

The implication is stark: when you measure stocks against gold instead of dollars, the Dow has actually lost 60% of its value over those 60 years. It's a reminder that nominal gains don't always translate to real purchasing power.

Silver and Bitcoin: Diverging Paths

Schiff isn't just talking about ancient history. He's been putting his money where his mouth is with recent calls. Back on February 14th, he advised followers to dump Bitcoin (BTC) and load up on silver. How'd that work out? Pretty well, actually.

Following that advice would have given you approximately 70% more purchasing power, as Bitcoin has dropped over 6% since then while silver has surged more than 68%. That's not a small difference.

The Mirror Image Crash

Schiff recently predicted what he calls a "mirror image" crash, pointing to November's dramatic divergence: silver jumped nearly 15% while Bitcoin tumbled 16%. It's the kind of volatility that makes his point about traditional precious metals versus digital currencies.

He's particularly bearish on Bitcoin's future, suggesting 2026 could bring even tougher times for the cryptocurrency. According to Schiff, Bitcoin has already fallen nearly 30% from its dollar high and 42% from its peak when measured in gold. That latter metric is the one he thinks matters most.

The debate between gold bugs and crypto enthusiasts continues, but Schiff's numbers do raise an interesting question: when we talk about market gains, what are we really measuring them against?