The Lloyds TSB Private Banking Commodities Monitor, showing that a basket of 20 different commodities had risen by an average of 232 per cent since 2001, demonstrates that silver, not gold, was the star performer. Silver prices surged 26 per cent a year over 10 years, while gold rose 21 per cent, copper and tin 20 per cent. The lowest rise per annum over 10 years was aluminium, up 6 per cent.

Over the 12 months to August, silver rose 119 per cent.

The rapid rise in precious metal prices comes at a time of weakening confidence in paper - so-called fiat - money systems because of ballooning sovereign debt and the moves by some central banks to print money in response to weak economic growth. According to some economists, the era of paper money may be drawing to a close, possibly resulting in money being linked to precious metals again.

The average annual return of the 20 commodities was 13 per cent, which is three times the average equivalent 4 per cent gain from holding UK stocks and greater than the 9 per cent return on UK residential property .

"The initial phase of the decade-long, current bull market in commodities had its origin in supply constraints resulting from years of under-investment in productive capacity during the nearly two decades of falling commodity prices in the 1980s and 1990s,” said Ash Misra, head of investments at Lloyds TSB Private Banking.

“Latterly, prices have been supported, perhaps in equal measure, by strong emerging market demand, a weak US dollar, monetary stimulus and low interest rate policies of Western central banks and the inflation threat arising from systematic monetary debasement as deficit-funded public sector spending has sought to offset declines in spending by an over-leveraged private sector,” Misra said.