Back in the late 1970s, the Hunt brothers from Texas tried to corner the silver market. That drove prices to $48 an ounce. Now, 31 years later, silver is shooting higher again. The March silver futures contract closed at $32.296 per ounce, up 72 cents.

Since gold is expensive, investors are turning to silver to hedge against inflation. Many fear that the Federal Reserve will not be able to control the spike in commodity prices. The Fed is buying $600 billion of treasuries and keeping interest rates near zero.

"The "golden" days lie ahead for silver and investors who get exposure to this commodity and stocks in the sector; in my view, there is no better silver miner than the 119 year old Hecla Mining (HL)," says Ian Wyatt.

The editor of Top Stock Insights explains, "The company is one of the oldest miners in the U.S. and operates in Alaska and Idaho.

"Over the past 12 months, silver has lagged increases in gold by a large margin and that will not last. Investors buy silver for the same reason as gold, inflation.

"In our view, golden days lie ahead for silver; and one of the most promising small-cap silver mining companies is Coeur d' Alene Mines (CDE), which I believe has the potential for 40 percent or more upside," says Ian Wyatt.

The editor of The 100K Portfolio explains, "While the company takes it's name from the Idaho town in which it is headquartered, this is a mining company with a global presence.

"With mines in geographically stable areas including Argentina, Alaska, Australia, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Nevada, the operations are wide reaching.

"We have reinstated our buy recommendations for Silver Wheaton Corp. (SLW) and Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS)," says Jack Adamo.

The editor of Insiders Plus explains, "First, we look at Pan American Silver; this is one the steadiest growers I've seen in any industry. It has more than tripled its silver production in the last 8 years. Its stock has trounced the S&P 500 over the last five, ten and twenty years.

"Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ: SSRI) has set a new standard for silver resources; simply put, its boasts the largest published in-ground silver resource of any publicly-traded silver company," says mining stock specialist Brien Lundin.

In The Gold Newsetter he adds, "We were fortunate over the years that the great idea behind this company was combined with a great management team, as CEO Bob Quartermain is among the best in the business."

"Silver Standard has 1.127 billion ounces in measured and indicated resources, plus another 195 million ounces in proven and probable reserves, and another 456 million ounces in inferred resources.

"Its resources come from a portfolio of properties spanning the globe from Argentina, Peru, and Mexico, to Canada, Chile, the US and Australia. Now the companyis making the transition to production with aggressive development programs on five core properties.

"Getting invested in precious metal for the long term is our end game," says Daniel Frishberg, host of BizRadio and editor of The MoneyMan.com Gold & Oil. Here's a look at two ETFs.

"It looks as if prices could go higher short term, especially if US dollar weakness continues. The risk of owning gold at today's price level is that net commercial short positions continue to increase.

"Attempts by producers and speculators to bid up prices are matched by increases in commercial short positions. Gold prices are being controlled not by physical buyers and sellers, but by futures traders.

This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"When building a portfolio of junior mining stocks, stick with the best -- not just the cheapest," says money manager and advisor Adrian Day in his industry-leading The Global Analyst.

Although he is cautious on gold prices for the near term, Adrian Day suggests, "Gold is still only part way through its current bull move, one that likely still has years to run." Here, he looks at five favorite top-quality junior miners.

"Gold has had an extraordinary run, based partly on the decline in the dollar, which appears overdone in the short term. The fundamentals for a weaker dollar and for a stronger gold price remain intact, but I would be cautious about chasing markets now, especially the seniors.

"But it would be a mistake to sell too much, particularly in an attempt to trade the market and buy back precisely the same stocks at lower prices. Such attempts often end badly, as one fails to buy back favorite companies after selling at perhaps intermediate tops.