Silver’s torrid rally has Americans in frenzy to buy, sell coins

The last time silver was this hot, Reddit posters piled in to drive prices even higher, creating a frenzy that overwhelmed dealers. The metal’s current rally has set off a similar dynamic.

Over the past year, the white metal has tripled, with a nearly 30% jump just this month as investors turn to hard assets such as metals amid ongoing geopolitical risks, supply tightness and renewed uncertainty surrounding the independence of the Federal Reserve.

“The relentless of the momentum with silver is really unusual. That has really catalyzed on the retail side a tremendous new influx of retail purchasers and sellers,” said Stefan Gleason, chief executive officer of Money Metals Exchange, one of the top US bullion dealers. “We’re seeing record levels on both selling and buying.”

Gleason said his firm recorded its largest sales month in December in its 16-year history, when silver gained nearly 27%. Many longtime holders of silver and gold bars and coins have come out to cash in on the price gains while newcomers are enticed for the same reason, he said.

The bullion dealer charges retail buyers of one-ounce American Eagle silver coins $12 over spot prices, the highest since 2023. And sellers pay $5-$8 to the online exchange to take the metal, the largest ever in dollar terms.

In 2021, silver was caught up in the Reddit day traders short-squeeze mania that saw prices surge 14% to top $30 an ounce in just three sessions. The moves also roiled the physical market with dealers unable to process orders of bars and coins for several days due to unprecedented demand.

The demand since Christmas is similar to 2021, Gleason said, “where it was just a massive amount of unexpected volume.” In addition to Money Metals, dealers including Apmex, SD Bullion and JM Bullion are telling customers to expect delays in processing and shipping times.

Money Metals has hired 40 people since Christmas and needs to hire 30 more, said Gleason. It’s “just overwhelming but exciting.”

(By Yvonne Yue Li)