Silver grain and silver shot are interchangeable terms referring to silver which has been purposely formed into a large number of regularly sized granules or globules, each only a fraction of an inch across. The grains are typically around the size of BB gun pellets – that is, around ¼ inch in diameter (6 mm). Silver grain was not intended to be used as an investment or for collectible purposes; rather, it is meant to be employed as a raw material when creating objects out of this precious metal.