The spot price is the benchmark price for one troy ounce of a metal delivered now— as opposed to futures prices, which are for delivery later. When someone says “silver is at thirty bucks,” they mean spot. Every melt value on this site is computed from it.
Where the number comes from
There is no central cash register for gold. The live spot quote is derived from the most active trading venues:
- Futures exchanges — chiefly COMEX in New York, whose front-month gold and silver contracts trade nearly 24 hours a weekday and effectively set the global reference.
- The London OTC market — the centuries-old dealer network where large physical bars change hands, anchored by the LBMA auctions (twice daily for gold, once for silver) that institutions use as official benchmarks.
Quote services blend these into the continuous price you see on our live charts, which refresh every minute. Spot is always quoted in US dollars per troy ounce (31.1035 g — see why that matters).
Bid, ask, and what you actually get
Like any market, metals have two prices: the bid (what buyers pay) and the ask (what sellers want), a few cents apart for silver and a dollar or so for gold. Retail reality adds a wider wedge on each side:
- Buying: you pay spot plus a premium — minting, distribution and dealer margin. Premiums vary enormously: big bars might run 2–5% over spot, government coins like Silver Eagles can run 10–25%, and junk silver floats with demand.
- Selling: you receive spot minus a spread (or occasionally a hair over, for in-demand products). Typical buyback on common bullion runs from a percent or two under spot to a few percent, depending on the product and the dealer — see where to sell silver coins.
This is why melt value is a reference, not a promise: it tells you what the metal is worth at the benchmark, so you can judge how good an actual quote is.
Why spot moves
Metals respond to real interest rates, the dollar, central-bank buying, industrial demand (about half of silver consumption), and plain fear. Daily swings of 1–2% are routine, so always value your stack against a livequote — yesterday’s price can easily be off by more than a dealer’s entire margin. Every calculator here — coins, bullion, scrap — uses the live price and lets you override it to model a different scenario.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I buy silver at the spot price?
Spot is a wholesale benchmark for raw metal in 1,000-ounce-bar form. Turning that into a minted coin in your hand costs money — fabrication, distribution, dealer margin — which is the premium you pay over spot.
Who sets the spot price?
No single party. It emerges from trading in the major futures markets (COMEX in New York) and the London over-the-counter market, with the twice-daily LBMA auctions serving as formal benchmarks. Quote services blend these into the live number you see.
Does the spot price trade around the clock?
Nearly. Global trading runs from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon US time, with only brief daily pauses — which is why spot moves overnight and a morning quote can differ from last night's.