After yesterday’s updates, first my conversations with bullion dealers and then a subscriber’s due diligence, another subscriber checks in with ‘boots on the ground’ information, along with a suggestion for something of a pairs trade for would-be silver buyers.
I am actually somewhat interested in this if a whopping discount is available, as I miss my old bags of 90% junk silver. :-)
A very good friend of mine is THE only source for people to buy/sell gold and silver in our immediate area. He chooses not to hedge his purchases in the paper markets or with refiners. Instead, he has a relationship with a VERY large coin dealer in the Metro Detroit area, to whom he sells the extra metals he has purchased from the local residents. That dealer DOES deal with refiners . As such, I am able to give some added context to what your previous sources have said.
It indeed seems true that refiners are only taking certain types of silver. In particular, they are taking neither scrap Sterling nor 90% “junk” or “constitutional” old US silver coinage. So here is what may be pertinent to your readers. Both my friend and his dealer contact in Detroit are offering large discounts to people who are willing to take this 90% silver coinage off of their hands, as apparently the refiners are telling them it will be up to 6 months before they get through their existing backlog. My friend has bought coinage from customers at a 30% discount to the spot silver price. So, dealers in the same position who find themselves with more or this then they would care to have are offering this to customers at a 10-15% discount from spot. They still make 10-15-20 percent. Everyone is happy.
In any case, those interested in increasing their stockpiles can do so at a discount. Obviously a 10-15% discount won’t seem like much if silver pulls back to $60/ounce. However, for a person willing to “hedge” by buying something like ZSL or selling SLV, they can basically lock in that discount while having physical possession of the metal itself. It just might behoove people to inquire from their local dealers if they are willing to part with this “junk 90%” at a price well below spot.
Just an added data point for you.
Great info, thank you. I wonder if the below re 2018 bankruptcy of the major US silver refiner has some relevance, from Google:
“Actual Production: In 2024, total US refinery output was approximately 2,400 metric tons (~77 million troy ounces). This was split evenly between:
Primary Silver: ~1,200 metric tons from mining ores and concentrates.
Secondary Silver: ~1,200 metric tons recovered from new and old scrap.
Historical Capacity Loss: The 2018 bankruptcy of Republic Precious Metals removed an estimated 3,000 metric tons (97 million troy ounces) of annual domestic silver refining capacity, which reportedly strained the remaining large domestic refiners.
Operating Status: As of late 2025, many major refiners were operating at high utilization rates due to a multi-year global silver supply deficit.”
There certainly are a lot of moving parts with potential to alter the market. Both domestic and global. Paper/digital and physical.
A dealer here in NC says that wholesalers will not pay him for gold for up to 7 days and up to a month for silver and that, given the volatility, the dealer cannot offer anywhere near spot price when buying from the public.
Well, now is as good a time as any for the market to come back into balance. I have SLV puts that started the day in hell and now are reaching for the heavens (or at least looking up that way). If I had capitulated and sold those puts I would have a massive case of self-hatred right now. Now we need to see the Gold/Silver ratio rise to complete the process and paint the pullback in silver as something more than an in-day head fake.