As the prices of gold and silver surge, Tigard bullion buyer Dennis Johnson says he’s experiencing a “high point.”
As of May 29, gold and silver prices were still riding the tailwinds of historic highs, with gold at just over $4,560 an ounce and silver at $76 an ounce.
The large fluctuations in both products are indicative of various economic shifts in global trade, but for Center Street Gold and Silver, they are indicative of increased clientele.
“I’ve added another employee, we’re starting to renovate the building,” Johnson said. “The whole year has been very active.”
Johnson said that gold and silver’s meteoric rise over the last few months has significantly impacted the business, leading to an uptick in patronage at the shop, which was voted “business of the year” by the Tigard Chamber of Commerce in 2023.
While gold and silver prices have been steadily increasing since 2024, according to APMEX statistics, silver rose to over $100 an ounce in late January, double its level last November. Gold similarly reached a peak price of $5,300 an ounce in February.
The New York Times attributed rises in both silver and gold to increased global tensions, a weaker dollar and investors seeking a safe haven amid foreign escalations.
“Some of the momentum is explained by investors seeking safe places to park their money during trade tensions, geopolitical conflicts, and worries about inflation and rising debt,” reads an article from Jan. 28.
While prices have dipped a bit since their peak in February, Johnson said that rates are still more expensive than ever, saying, “It’s still $4,500. A year and a half ago, it was $2,000.”
Johnson explained that in the bullion business, the influx of trade was so extreme that, with silver specifically, the system was “clogged” and refineries were backed up with excess goods.
“What happened was, a lot of people wanted to sell their silver, and they wanted to sell flatware and sterling and all their jewelry items,” Johnson said. “There was so much product hitting the market that it clogged up the system.”
Activity at the shop has ebbed and flowed with the whims of the market, and Johnson said he’s had customers coming in ready to sell goods they’d been hanging onto as well as people coming in to capitalize on a momentary drop.
“We do get people who say, ‘I need to buy, it’s going up!’ and then we get other people who go, ‘well, I’ve been waiting for it to get to this price, I’m getting out!’” Johnson said.
Johnson said that although Center Street had benefited from recent jumps in the market, he tried to give back to the community as much as he could, saying, “the longer I stay in the business, the longer I can help others.”
Center Street Gold & Silver is located at 8879 SW Center Street in Tigard. For more information, or up-to-the-minute buy/sell rates for precious metals, visit www.centerstreetgoldsilver.com.
