Silver Premiums, Demand and ShortagesJeff Berwick I heard reports of bullion dealers in the US who simply were not selling Monster Boxes of Silver Eagles. Physical metal was hard to find in spite of the price collapse. That nadir didnt last for long as silver obviously rebounded magnificently, teasing its old psychological record of $50 an ounce. Realistically, it took some time for silver to crescendo amid increased demand arisen from The End Of The Monetary System As We Know It (TEOTMSAWKI). So, realistically, one could expect that silver would thus consolidate over a similar amount of time. And it did. Still is Even today, just under $30, silver has represented a formidable store of value since 2008 and before if you can stomach the sheer weight of the devils metal. (Youre probably a HomeGrowner.) Because it has been such a formidable store of value, demand has remained, and many mints in the world cant keep up. Most recently, junk silver has dried up, and premiums have risen to over 10% on a silver retail product that oftentimes has traded at around spot.Compare Silver Prices nicely demonstrates the premium rise in just the past 24 hours (the websites algorithm tracks silver premiums): The Beginning Of Bretton Woods End: 1971 French President Charles De Gaulle first forced the USs hand on its pre-1971 obligation to convert French-held dollar reserves to gold. In some ways, this was the first post-World War II hint of the fragility of the Bretton Woods system. The US fairly quickly cut the tie between the dollar and gold, as weve covered extensively. According to mainstream sources, Germany is looking to repatriate 674 tons of gold by 2020. Germany wishes to hold just 50 percent of gold reserves in Frankfurt by then. Post-World War II, once all the Nazi party oligarchs had gotten their loot, the official story goes as such: Germany began amassing gold reserves thanks to growing exports to the US. They kept the gold in the US to protect themselves from the Evil Empire, the Soviet Union. Prior to reunification in 1990, 98 percent of Germanys gold was stored abroad. Now, Germany wishes to store half of its gold domestically. Podemos tener la espalda de oro? Demand For Precious Metals, A Precursor For A Rise in Premium Makes sense none of these governments would want their gold in the US. After all, in January the US Mint notified the public: Authorized Purchasers, The United States Mint has temporarily sold out of 2013 American Eagle Silver Bullion coins. As a result, sales are suspended until we can build up an inventory of these coins. Sales will resume on or about the week of January 28, 2013, via the allocation process. Please feel free to call us if you have any questions. Regards, Jack A. Szczerban Oh waitexcept for La Casa de Moneda de Mexico (the oldest mint in the Americas), with a full supply of 2013 silver coins. One can only imagine it is a matter of time before Mexico starts getting the Polish treatment. With fear and anxiety unrelieved by stock market highs, people will continue looking towards hard assets. This demand will in turn lead to higher and higher premiums. It might not matter one day what the price of silver is. Its premium on physical might double that easy. That is, if you can get physical silver at the retail level. Anarcho-Capitalist. Libertarian. Freedom fighter against mankinds two biggest enemies, the State and the Central Banks. Jeff Berwick is the founder of The Dollar Vigilante, CEO of TDV Media Services and host of the popular video podcast, Anarchast. Jeff is a prominent speaker at many of the worlds freedom, investment and gold conferences as well as regularly in the media including CNBC, CNN and Fox Business. linkwithin_text=Related Articles: 