Sometime around 1935, the ratio surpassed 100:1, and it was up there somewhere around 2000. Take a look at this graph.
Now you'll notice that the price ratio was quite static up until the 1870s. While the more drastic changes didn't occur until the 1890s (Hello, WJB!), and the ratio did go back down to "historical" levels twice since, the 1870s seem to be where silver reached the point of no return.
Now I would suppose that the primary factor of the change was the demonitization of silver across many western nations in the 1870s. But what other factors are involved? Is there a "true" ratio for modern society? By true ratio, I would expect a modest fluctuation.
Here are some facts. Silver is about 19 times more abundant than gold. That, to me, makes a 19:1 ratio a simple "low". Scarcity always affects price. However, in terms of utility, both have ups and downs. Silver seems to have more overall usefulness, whereas gold beats silver in the areas they are both useful because silver oxidizes more quickly.
One use of silver that I found to be interesting: space electronics. because the downside of silver is oxidation, space becomes a natural place for silver.
Does the expansion of space exploration drive up silver prices (hence, lowering the ratio)?
Looking at the graph above, there has been some major price volatility. Some of it has to do with price controls (e.g. Nixon's gold price fixing). But what other factors are there?
Overall, I wonder if we can come to a consensus on this.
Thoughts?