Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Organization [Abstract]
Organization	1. Organization The ETFS Silver Trust (the “Trust”) is an investment trust formed on July 20, 2009 under New York law pursuant to a depositary trust agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) executed by ETF Securities USA LLC (the “Sponsor”) and The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee (the “Trustee”) at the time of the Trust’s organization. The Trust holds silver bullion and issues ETFS Physical Silver Shares (the “Shares”) (in minimum blocks of 50,000 Shares, also referred to as “Baskets”) in exchange for deposits of silver and distributes silver in connection with redemption of Baskets. Shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust which are issued by the Trust. The Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETF Securities Limited, a Jersey, Channel Islands based company. The Trust is governed by the Trust Agreement. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of silver, less the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust is designed to provide an individual owner of beneficial interests in the Shares (a “Shareholder”) an opportunity to participate in the silver market through an investment in securities.

1. Organization

The ETFS Silver Trust (the “Trust”) is an investment trust formed on July 20, 2009 under New York law pursuant to a depositary trust agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) executed by ETF Securities USA LLC (the “Sponsor”) and The Bank of New York Mellon as trustee (the “Trustee”) at the time of the Trust’s organization. The Trust holds silver bullion and issues ETFS Physical Silver Shares (the “Shares”) (in minimum blocks of 50,000 Shares, also referred to as “Baskets”) in exchange for deposits of silver and distributes silver in connection with redemption of Baskets. Shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust which are issued by the Trust. The Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETF Securities Limited, a Jersey, Channel Islands based company. The Trust is governed by the Trust Agreement.

The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of silver, less the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust is designed to provide an individual owner of beneficial interests in the Shares (a “Shareholder”) an opportunity to participate in the silver market through an investment in securities.