Incredibly, the spot price of silver has just surpassed the £50/oz mark. 

It is even more amazing to think that it was only in late August that it went over the long-standing previous record high fix of £29.26/oz - that's a 66.6% rise in value in just four months.

Despite a brief hiatus over the past three days as the metal priced stalled in the 49's and holding off the inevitable, silver has increased in value by 25% in the past fortnight as it has raced towards 50.