Some of us have speculated before about the reason Barclays split the iShares Silver ETF (SLV) 10:1 (and some other ETFs by varying amounts) on July 21. Personally, I thought it had to do with added liquidity, an attempt to align the ETF’s price with the underlying (silver bullion) itself, attracting smaller investors, and/or a desire to move toward real-time NAV calculations like big-brother GLD.

Well, I was wrong. What it had to do with was the reduction of the basket size, or the minimum ounces of silver that the Authorized Participant needs to deliver to/from the iShares Trust in exchange for receiving or redeeming a corresponding number of shares.

Geopolitical risk looks to be building back into the crude oil and PM markets this Sunday evening (Monday already in the Far East) as Russia and Georgia hurtle toward each other in a dangerous escalation of their "Summer Olympics" conflict over two small corners of the Caucasus. Whether this becomes all out war or just another flare up that has yet again claimed the lives of many innocents on both sides, the situation looks to have serious short and long term implications for regional security and the relationship between the great powers.

So far ,as of 6:45 PM PDT on Sunday night, oil is up a buck, gold is up 5 bucks and silver is up a dime. In other words, the early risers don't think much will go wrong here. But, what "could" go wrong?

Let's first look at a few fun (boring) facts about the proposed silver ETF. Silver investors should consider keeping these points in the back of their minds:

And Silver Wheaton might not even know it. Perhaps more likely, it knows exactly what it is doing but does not yet want the rest of the world to catch on. If so, it might be too late. On Silver Wheaton's tail with more recent transactions of its own is a much older and more traditional mining company with lots of cash: Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation (CDE).