Major Changes Currently Shaking Up the Physical Silver Market

 


Record-high silver market prices are causing major changes in the world of trading physical silver items.   Due to time constraints, we are highlighting major points currently affecting physical silver trading, this article will be updated with more information as time permits and is warranted.

- A 5 to 6 month backlog of scrap silver waiting to be refined has built up at silver refineries around the country and the refineries have stopped allowing any further incoming shipments for the foreseeable future. This is causing almost all of America's largest wholesale dealers to HALT purchases of many categories of silver items. This suspension of purchasing affects categories like sterling silver flatware & tableware, scrap silver jewelry, US Wartime Nickels, 40% Silver Clad Halves, Foreign silver coins, industrial silver scrap and in some cases, pre-1965 US 90% Silver coins.     This suspension of buying scrap silver by the major dealers, along with increasing processing & payment times, has trickled down to severely affect small and medium size silver dealers.   We are doing our best to continue normal buying operations, but we are definitely being affected by the wide price gap in the Silver Spot price, (see next section).

- Silver Price Backwardation.  Normally, Silver Futures contracts trade at a premium to the live delivery, Spot, Market.  As I type this, December Futures contracts on Silver are trading at a couple dollar DISCOUNT to the current Spot Market price.  This is quite unusual, rarely happens, and is causing a much larger than usual spread between the BID Spot and the ASK Spot.  This large, (multi-dollar), spread in the Spot price is causing confusion and unhappiness in people who are trying to sell their physical silver and getting buy quotes that are several dollars below what they thought the current Spot price was.

- Exceptionally high lease rates on Silver bars in London, along with potential tariff questions, have caused a shortage in physical silver bars in London.  This is being exasperated by heaving buying of ETF's that are (hopefully) putting physical silver in vaults to back their paper silver.

So basically, both sides of the silver equation are being squeezed.


For further reading, see this notice posted by one of the US Mint's primary distributors to all its wholesale customers today. Their bottom line: "we cannot buy what we cannot sell".





Popular posts from this blog

Our Office Location, Maps & Info

Image
Nashville Coin & Currency, Inc. www.NashvilleCoin.com Our office is located at 213 Overlook Circle, Suite B-1, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027 Our regular office hours are Monday-Friday from 10:00am to 5pm. Due to our frequent nationwide buying trips and our active daily schedule,  we work by appointment.    Here's a map with our office locations shown, an Overlook Circle closeup map, as well as a view of the office's exterior.  Click on an image to see an expanded view of it. The street marquis signage at the office entrance where you turn in is abbreviated for security. It shows:  B-1 Mike Mouret NCC Contact us today for your appointment, we look forward to seeing you soon.     213 Overlook Circle, Ste B-1, Brentwood, TN 37027
Read more

Europe To Ban Large Cash Transactions

Image
The European Union Plans to Ban Large Cash Transactions   Pictured: €500 Bank Note. €500 notes were withdrawn from circulation in 2019   The European Union is setting the stage to ban Cash transactions of 10,000 Euro or more, in the 25 countries using the Euro Currency.  Originally hailed as a method to stop money laundering, but now saying it doesn't work, the previous rule to report Cash transactions of €10,000 or more is being replaced with an outright ban on spending that amount in cash in those countries.  For decades, banks, and then businesses, have had to notify the IRS, and in the case of Europe, its European Union version of the IRS, when a person deposited, withdrew or spent $10,000 or more in cash or "cash equivalents", (ie: money orders & cashier's checks under $10,000).  Banks we'll even flag your account at much lower amounts, $3,000., to monitor if a person attempts to deposit or withdraw smaller amounts at multiple branches, totaling $10,000...
Read more

Current Gold to Silver Ratio

Each year, there is approximately 10 times as much silver mined as gold, yet the Gold/Silver Ratio has been heavily skewed and considerably "out-of-whack" for many years.  Using the Gold/Silver Ratio as a guide to see which metal is favored, or unfavored, can be helpful when deciding which metal to buy at any point in time. October 15, 2025 After being as high as 100/1 in the not-too-distant past months, the Silver price's recent rise has brought the current Gold/Silver Ratio back down to the stubborn 80 to 1 ratio where it currently sits. July 19, 2023 The Gold to Silver ratio has now broken back under 80, figured today at 78.75 ounces of Silver to 1 ounce of Gold, as Silver has been outperforming Gold recently.    - - - - - Sept 7, 2022 Gold continues to dominate the Gold to Silver ratio.  At today's rates, one ounce of gold will buy 93 ounces of silver - - - - - July 18, 2022 At today's market prices, one ounce of Gold is trading at 91.4 times the price of one ...
Read more