21 DECEMBER 1991, Page 58

. . . and a silver plating

IF GOLD is cheap, silver should be cheap- er still. The price is where it was in the mid 1970s, and I was cheered to find, when cost- ing out the new dinner service for Downing Street, that a million pounds would buy you 12 tons. We could stock up with ingots or, better, buy good modern silver for not too much more than the price of plate. Peter Hambro, the bullion banker, maintains that the only limiting factor is the cost of polish and maintenance. Silver may be cheaper, he says, but butlers are expensive.