Silver's explosive January rally, which briefly pushed futures prices above $120 per ounce, has since fizzled, with futures trading around $82 as of Thursday morning. Even so, the frenzy has sparked a sharp increase in scrap silver volumes flowing to refiners, as people rush to sell silver coins, sterling dinner sets, candlesticks, and other heirlooms inherited from grandparents or Boomer parents.

Bloomberg reports coin and jewelry shops have seen what they describe as a "rush of customers" seeking to dispose of collectibles, silverware, and family treasures during the historic surge in silver prices last month.

"Everyone's grandma is selling their chandelier, forks, and knives — anything that's made of sterling silver to utilize the silver prices," said Gene Furman, owner of King Gold & Pawn and Empire Gold Buyers, which has locations across the New York City metro area.

"The average check I'm writing is probably in the $8,000 to $10,000 range," Gary Tancer, owner of Coin & Jewelry Gallery of Boca Raton, told the outlet. He noted consumers are "coming in droves and droves."

Google Search trends show that as silver prices soared, so did online interest from people searching "sell my silver."

A truly explosive surge...

Related top search queries included:

The influx of individuals deciding to sell their silver heirlooms has triggered a surge of silver scrap entering the market.

Heraeus Precious Metals, one of the world's largest precious metals refiners, is now facing a backlog, said Dominik Sperzel, head of trading for the German firm.

"When you place the silver order today, it cannot just take a few weeks," Sperzel said. "We're already talking about months."

Jack Farley of Monetary Matters spoke with Milton Berg of MB Advisors Institutional Research about why Berg is bearish on silver at this point. His view is that refineries are being overwhelmed with scrap silver, with inflows even heavier than during the 2011 speculative peak.

Listen to the full Farley-Berg conversation here.

Then again, the silver-squeeze comes to China...