Silver Shot and Grain by the Pound

Name: Silver Shot and Grain by the Pound
Creator: Silver by the Pound
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Reviewed by the Silver by the Pound Editorial Team · Updated September 24, 2026

$932.11 a pound of .999 shot

Silver spot $63.98/troy oz · $933.04/lb · updated September 24, 2026

Quick answer. Silver shot and grain are small pieces of pure (.999) silver sold by weight, often by the ounce, pound or kilo. A pound holds about 14.57 troy ounces of silver, worth $932.11 at today's spot. Premiums are typically a few percent over spot, among the lowest in retail silver. Jewelers buy grain for casting; some buyers choose shot because it can be split into any amount.

What it is: pure silver formed into small beads or granules instead of bars or coins
Purity: usually .999 fine; some refiners sell .9999; sterling casting grain (.925) also exists
Fine silver per pound: 14.57 troy oz at .999
Sold in: bags from 1 oz up to 1 kilo or more
Typical premium: a few percent over spot

Silver shot and grain by weight (.999) at today's spot price
Item	Troy oz of silver	Pounds	Melt value
½ lb of .999 shot	7.284	0.500	$466.05
1 lb of .999 shot	14.569	0.999	$932.11
5 lb of .999 shot	72.844	4.995	$4,660.54
10 lb of .999 shot	145.688	9.990	$9,321.09

What Shot and Grain Are

Both are made the same basic way: molten silver is poured or dripped into water, where it cools instantly into small pieces.

Shot is the larger, irregular form. The beads range from pea-sized to thumbnail-sized, each a slightly different shape and weight. Shot is what bullion buyers usually mean when they talk about buying silver "by the pound" in loose form.

Casting grain is smaller and more uniform, often a few millimeters across, produced to consistent sizes so it melts evenly in a jeweler's crucible. It's sold mainly to jewelers, silversmiths and metal casters, who melt it down and alloy it for their work.

The difference matters less for value than for use. By weight, a pound of .999 shot and a pound of .999 grain hold the same silver.

Who Buys Silver by the Grain

Jewelers and casters are the core market. Grain melts quickly and evenly, and it's easy to weigh out exactly the amount a job needs. Many buy .999 grain and alloy it themselves to make sterling; others buy sterling casting grain ready to use.

Buyers who want flexibility. Shot has a feature no bar or coin can match: it's divisible to the gram. Anyone who wants to hold silver in amounts that don't fit neat one-ounce units, or who wants to add a few grams at a time, can do it with shot.

Buyers watching premiums. Because shot and grain skip the minting and design costs of coins, they're one of the lower-premium ways to buy pure silver in small lots.

Purity, Assay, and What to Check

A coin or stamped bar tells you what it is. A bag of beads doesn't. That changes what you need to check.

Buy from a refiner or dealer who states the fineness on the package. Reputable shot and grain come sealed with the refiner's name, the weight and the purity. Some include an assay certificate.
Know which purity you're buying. .999 is standard. Sterling casting grain is 92.5%, which holds 7.5% less silver; it's the right product for a jeweler making sterling and the wrong one for a buyer who wants pure silver. The label should say which.
Keep the packaging. When you sell, a buyer can't test every bead. Sealed original packaging from a known refiner is what lets shot sell close to the price of other .999 bullion. Loose, unmarked shot may need to be tested or melted, and buyers deduct for that.

Why Shot and Grain Premiums Are Low

Premiums pay for everything between a refinery and your hands: fabrication, packaging, distribution, dealer margin. Shot and grain need the least fabrication of any silver product. There are no dies, no designs, and no strict weight tolerance per piece: the silver is simply cast and weighed. That keeps the premium in the same band as mid-size bars, typically a few percent over spot in normal markets.

It isn't always the cheapest option. Large 100 oz and kilo bars often edge it out on price per ounce, and when demand for small silver surges, shot premiums rise like everything else. But among products you can buy in small, flexible amounts, it's usually near the bottom. Run any quote through our premium calculator to compare.

Storing and Weighing Shot at Home

Loose silver is easy to lose track of, so a little discipline helps. Keep shot in its original sealed bag for as long as you can; once it's open, store it in a labeled, airtight container with the refiner's name, purity and original weight written on it. A digital scale that reads to 0.1 gram is enough to check a bag's weight against its label. Silver tarnishes in air, especially near rubber, wool or sulfur-containing materials, but tarnish is only a thin surface film. It doesn't change the weight or the silver content, so there's no need to clean shot before selling it.

Worked Examples

A 1 lb bag of .999 shot. 14.57 troy ounces × $63.98 = $932.11 melt value.

500 grams of casting grain. 500 ÷ 31.1035 = 16.08 troy ounces, a little more than a pound.

A 1 kilo bag. 32.15 troy ounces, or 2.2 pounds, worth $2,054.95 at .999.

FAQ

What's the difference between silver shot and silver grain?

Shot is larger and irregular; grain is smaller and more uniform. Both are usually .999 silver.

How much is a pound of silver shot worth?

$932.11 in melt value today, at .999 fine.

Is silver shot a good way to buy silver?

It's divisible and usually low-premium, but it's harder to resell than stamped bars unless it's in sealed packaging from a known refiner.

Can I make jewelry from silver shot?

Yes, but most jewelers use smaller casting grain, which melts more evenly.

Is sterling casting grain the same as silver shot?

No. Sterling grain is 92.5% silver; bullion shot is usually .999.