Experts give several reasons for Southern silver's rarity. The largely rural South did not have the number of craftsmen that the North did, yet upper-class Southerners had a hearty appetite for serving elegantly appointed meals and perfectly presented teas. To meet demand, Southern silversmiths had to supplement their production by offering wares imported from abroad or manufactured and shipped from the North.

However, the main reason Southern silver is less common is due neither to demographics nor to a supply-and-demand economy, but to war. During the Civil War, silver flatware and hollowware were often melted down or stolen by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

In a letter to his wife, a Lieutenant Myers, a Union soldier fighting near Camden, South Carolina, writes, "We have had a glorious time in this State. Unrestricted license to burn and plunder was the order of the day. The chivalry have been stripped of most of their valuables. Gold watches, silver pitchers, cups, spoons, forks, &c., are as common in camp as blackberries. ... General Sherman has gold and silver enough to start a bank."

Though it is possible that silver was buried and its location forgotten, precious silver objects were also lost in natural disasters, such as devastating fires and the hurricanes that pummeled major coastal cities, including New Orleans and Charleston.

Regardless of its fate, the silver produced during the first half of the 19th century was often skillfully crafted, and its makers were proud of their work. Silversmiths frequently signed their wares by using a metal punch that had their initials or surname in roman capitals, and sometimes they included their location.