Coin shops awash in silver and gold as refineries fill

After a wild January — when gold topped $5,300 an ounce and silver neared $120 — prices tumbled and have since stabilized in early February. "These price moves have done a lot of damage all across the line," HSBC precious metals analyst James Steel said. The swings have flooded local coin shops with people selling gold and silver, and some dealers say they are running out of places to offload what they buy.

Tim Heuer, manager of University Coin & Jewelry in Madison, recalled a customer who sold silver when the spot price was $98 an ounce; "By the time I wrote his check, silver was already down $3.50 from the time he walked in the door." Refineries that normally buy that metal are backlogged.

Jarret Niesse, president of Precious Metal Refining Services in Chicago, said his company stopped buying scrap silver in October after prices crossed $50 per ounce, and that larger refineries have also paused buying, cutting into coin shops' cash flow.

United States, Madison; Chicago

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