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SilverVaults explains how physical silver actually works: stacking, spot vs what you pay, premiums, and IRA vs a dealer — without the infomercial.
The invoice
What spot price means
Silver premiums, explained
How to read a dealer invoice
The piece
Stacking basics: coins, rounds, bars
Purity, hallmarks, and fakes
What a Troy Ounce Means on a Silver Product Sheet
Bullion vs numismatic
Proof Finish vs Bullion on a Silver Coin
Where it sits
Storing physical silver
Silver IRA vs buying from a dealer
Allocated vs unallocated
When you sell
Selling physical silver
Bid vs Ask When You Sell Physical Silver
Silver and gold
Silver and gold: why people hold each
A labeled invoice
On a narrow screen, scroll sideways for the full diagram.
Labeled invoice stack
A labeled example, not a live quote. Melt twenty dollars plus a four-dollar premium is a twenty-four-dollar invoice, twenty percent of melt. Melt forty dollars plus the same four-dollar premium is a forty-four-dollar invoice, ten percent of melt. The dollar extra did not change. The percent did.
LABELED EXAMPLE — NOT A LIVE QUOTE
Same $4 premium. Two invoices.
Stack is melt + premium = what you pay. Not a dealer calculator.
$4 ON $20
Melt
$20
Premium $4
INVOICE
$24
20%
$4 is 20% of a $20 melt.
$4 ON $40
Melt
$40
Premium $4
INVOICE
$44
10%
The same $4 is 10% of a $40 melt.
The dollar extra did not change. The percent did.
Labeled example. Not a live quote.
SilverVaults | How Physical Silver Actually Works