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Silver prices soared by over 6% yesterday, breaking through the crucial $33.6 per ounce mark and sending shockwaves through global markets. The surge has put five major U.S. banks at risk of massive losses, potentially in the billions, due to their heavy short positions in the precious metal. According to data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the open interest in silver futures contracts has reached a staggering 141,580 contracts, each representing 5,000 ounces of silver. This translates to a total of 707,900,000 ounces – nearly equivalent to a year's worth of global silver production.

Silver Prices To Soar, Like Gold On Steroids! Commodities / Gold and Silver 2013 May 14, 2013 - 12:31 PM GMTDiane Alter By: Money_Morning Diane Alter writes: It's hard not to get a bit nostalgic about silver prices. I find myself reminiscing about April 2011 when the white metal ended the month at a sterling $48.70 an ounce after hitting an all-time intraday high of $49.51. That record surpassed the previous high of $49.45 set three decades earlier when the Texan Hunt brothers set out to corner the silver market. Since the 2011 peak, the S&P has roared higher by...

As silver prices continue to push for new 31-year highs and strive for an all-time record, silver coin values have blasted off for common coins once worth just 5, 10, 25 or 50 cents. It is difficult to imagine that a 50-cent piece with mintages in the tens of millions is worth nearly $17, or that a worn out nickel is valued at more than $2.50. But they are, thanks to silver prices that have jumped 172 percent since the end of 2009.Coins with 90 percent silver include dimes, quarters and half dollars that were minted before 1965. These...