Private mint silver supplies across the country are beginning to tighten up as investors take advantage of a low spot (14.78 as of the writing of this post). Premiums over spot rise when physical supply cannot keep up with demand and we have seen a steady rise in premiums over the past several weeks.
Also, the U.S. Mint saw a spike in ASE (American Silver Eagle) Sales for the month of September. Could this be a sign of things to come?
http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/eagle-sales-come-on-strong