Silver coin trading comes to a standstill  

Silver bullion and coin retailers became overwhelmed by the demand for physical silver. Reddit’s social media frenzy that rocked commodity markets last week is spreading to physical assets.

Well-known commercial firms such as Money Metals, SD Bullion, JM Bullion or Apmex, which are part of the market for precious metal products in the United States and Canada, said they could not process orders until the Asian markets opened. It is due to unprecedented demand. Purchases continued Monday, as silver spot and futures prices soared above $30 an ounce.

Tyler Wall, president and CEO of SD Bullion, said that almost all physical silver became depleted in terms of live inventory. We are currently seeing the premium; the price for physical silver is skyrocketing. 

Demand for physical silver surged unprecedentedly

Alessandro Soldati, Chief Executive Officer of Swiss dealer Gold Avenue, said that the demand was ten times higher than an average Sunday. Everyone became interested in buying gold and silver as soon as possible. 

Inspired by Reddit’s massive buying action, retail traders stormed the silver market last week. They successfully raised the prices of physical metal, silver mines and exchange-traded funds. Spot prices, silver futures on the Comex and the largest silver exchange-traded fund iShares Silver Trust were up more than 5% on the week.

Apmex, the precious metals dealer, believes that premiums will increase rapidly.

Premiums for American Eagle silver coins have risen. They went to $5 from $2 in the past three days, according to Everett Millman of Gainesville Coins in Florida. Those premiums motivate people to jump on the Redditors bandwagon. Additionally, it reinforces the bias that having physical money is a safer investment than speculating in the stock market.

Besides, there are signs that investors are holding on to the silver they own, as opposed to trying to make a profit.

The increase in demand also spread to Asia. According to Gregor Gregersen, founder of Singapore-based distributor Silver Bullion Pte, there has been an unprecedented demand for physical silver. The demand is broad and deep, as we have witnessed a record number of orders and a new record size in the last 24 hours, he stated. 

Members of the investment group r/Wallstreetbets turned their attention to the precious metals market. They pushed silver futures above $30, their highest price level since 2013.