I have 133 pieces of Towle Sterling Silver flatware purchased 39 years ago. How should I weigh these sterling silver pieces? Thanks from Jan in St. Louis, MO.

Hi Jan,

We recommend using a postal scale or food scale to weigh your sterling silverware. You might have to weigh each one at a time, but it will be more accurate than using a scale that you step on for your own weight. Each of the same fork, spoon or knife should have the same weight. So, you might only have to weigh one of each. However if some pieces are broken or worn, they can weigh less than other pieces.

Another thing that we tell people is that many times knifes and serving pieces have weighted handles. So if you weigh these pieces without considering the extra weight that is not sterling silver, it will skew your results. The only way to really tell how much weight to take out is by taking apart the knife/piece and removing the weight which can be made from wax or other material.

Here is a video of Arch literally taking apart a sterling silver knife weight to see what is inside.

We would only do this if you are sure you are going to refine your pieces. Removing the weight could damage the pieces beyond repair.

The bottom line is that you want to weigh all your pieces that you know are pure sterling silver separately from the pieces that may have weights in them.

Once you have an accurate weight of the silver, plug it into our silver calculator with the current price of silver. This will give you an idea about how much your silver is worth. We would also recommend Requesting an Estimate once you get your silver weight.

Here are some more blog posts about shipping and selling sterling silver.
http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/sterling-silver-buyers/
http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/how-to-sell-your-precious-metal-items/

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

I have several very heavy large silver serving trays, 55 pieces of silver plate and sterling silver utensils, and another 30 pieces of assorted sterling and silver on copper pieces. I have about 30 pounds of this stuff. Watched your videos and your website is very good. I need to either sell for scrap or melt to refine the various pieces. I am just tired of storing this stuff. What’s my next step?  Thank you for your informative videos. From Matt in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Hi Matt,

Glad to hear that you watched the videos about valuing sterling silverware.  Since you watched them, you now know that the pieces that are silver plated over copper have very little value and that some of your other items may be weighted or contain parts made from stainless steel.  Based on this, we would recommend sending in only your items that are clearly marked 925 sterling silver, sterling, or 800 and holding out any plated items, and removing the weighting materials from any items.

For the benefit of all who read this, silver plated copper pieces are not good candidates for precious metal refining as they contain very little silver.  If you have a lot of this material, you may be better off selling these to a scrap metal dealer. If you have pieces that are not marked sterling, you may have to conduct some research on your own to determine if they are in fact sterling. We would recommend first running a strong magnet over your items and if the magnet sticks to anything, they are not sterling. Our testing equipment would determine this, but we would hate to see people pay to ship in worthless items.

If you see any of the following markings on your pieces, chances are they are not sterling silver and you can take them out of the refining pile. These markings indicate something other than sterling such a plated or nickel silver.

Nickel Silver – or Alpaca
Silvertone
Plated Silver – Marked as EP or EPNS
G – German Silver

To get a rough estimate on what your sterling silver items are worth, make a pile of items that you know are sterling and that are not weighted. Weigh these items together and then you can use our silver value calculator to find the market value of these items. You can send all your items into our refinery and we will process and evaluate all the items. We typically pay 75% of the fine silver content by weight for your items. On your packing slip, please indicate the following options:

• If you would like us return any non sterling items back to you.
• If you would like us to call you before refining.

Otherwise, we will refine all the available sterling silver and recycle any metal that is not precious. If you would like more information on silver refining please visit the following resources:

Refining Sterling Silver Flatware Information
Finding the Value of Sterling Silver Video

I have a 20 year old collection of sterling silver tableware including flatware, cups, plates, trays, candlesticks, vases — anything you can imagine, all stripped & cleaned. I have about 1050 troy ounces of items and want to know the best place to sell silver. Thanks from Betty in Richmond, Virginia

Hi Betty,

That sounds like quite a collection of sterling silver you have! With so many pieces, it will be important to consider your options.

If you do not want to deal with the hassle of separating and selling in groups or piece by piece, you could send it all in to a refinery like us. We will run analytical testing on your materials and send back pieces if we find they are not sterling.  Assuming all of the pieces were .925 sterling silver is typically .925 silver and using a spot price of silver at $18 per troy ounce, your 1050 troy ounces would have a market value of approximately  $17,500. However, items such as candlesticks and knife handles are often weighted with other materials that contribute to the weight of the item, but contain no silver.  As such, this estimate is probably a best case scenario.

You should also consider that a silver refiner only pays on the silver content in items.  Refiners do not consider the collection value, condition or design.  Therefore, you’ll need to consider if the market value of an item is going to be more than its melt value and whether it is worth the time and effort to try to find a buyer for the item.

Here are some tips that we recommend for people with large collections of sterling silver tableware:

1. Separate all the pieces that are marked sterling silver from the pieces that are not marked. For the items that are not marked, you may want to do a few tests on those to find if they are in fact sterling. A magnet test is the easiest, if any of your unmarked pieces stick to a magnet they are not sterling.
2. Determine if some of your pieces could be weighted with another material. Wax, cement or lead is often added to items such as candlesticks to help stabilize the items. As a result, they are not 100% sterling silver materials. Other weighted items include candelabras and salt and pepper shakers. Also, many knife blades are stainless steel as sterling silver is too soft to function as a cutting device. Here is a silver refining video where you can see a candlestick and knife taken apart to expose filled and hollow centers.  To reduce shipping costs, it is ideal to try to remove the weighting materials if you know you are going to send the item in to be melted.
3. If you know that any of your pieces are antiques and in good condition, they could have collection value that is more than the silver content value. You may find that you can make more on these items by selling them on eBay, Craigslist or even to a local jeweler or antique shop.

Unmatched collections, broken pieces and outdated styles of sterling silver are typically ideal for refining as they have very little market value. Many people also send items in great condition to us simply because they don’t want to deal with the hassles of trying to sell the items themselves.  We typically pay 75% of the fine silver value by weight and welcome you to use our free silver value calculator to help guide you in your decision making.

Good luck with your collection and let us know if you need any more refining information.

I have about 96 ounces of Gorham brand sterling silver. What is this worth?  From Eli in Rogers, Arkansas

Hi Eli,

Thanks for your inquiry about selling sterling silver flatware. While we are not experts in regards to the collectors or market value of specific brands and styles of sterling silverware, we can help estimate its melt value. First, troy ounce is the measurement used for platinum, gold and silver. Troy ounces are actually heavier than standard ounces. If you have 96 standard ounces you have 87.4999 troy ounces (1 ounce = 0.911458333 troy ounce). Today the market price of silver is $18.73 UDS/troy ounce.* With that being said we can offer 75% of the fine silver content by weight for sterling silver. We would recommend that you use our silver value calculator with the current silver price to determine the silver value.

There are a couple of other items to keep in mind. You did not specify exactly what types of silver flatware you have – I am assuming that you have a set or a mix of forks, spoons, and/or knives. It is important to note that knife blades are sometimes stainless steel, making them more durable for cutting. Also, knife handles are sometimes weighted so they fit more comfortably in a user’s grip. If you have not done so already, we would recommend weighing spoons and forks separately from knives. Though sterling silver knives still have value, it can be significantly less than spoons and forks.

Also, since you have branded silverware I would recommend you checking out this previous blog post about sterling silverware that was also Gorham brand.

*Note: the price of silver changes daily.

I want to sell my sterling silver flatware set.  It is Gorham Greenbrier brand and includes 12 5-piece settings with a butter knife and 8 serving pieces: 2 medium size spoons, 2 medium size forks, a gravy ladle, a sugar spoon and 2 larger size serving spoon/forks. What is all this worth and where can I sell it?  From Karalyn in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Hi Karalyn,

Depending on the condition of your set, you may have a number of options of where to sell your sterling silver flatware. The first thing we would recommend is to find out as much as you can about your silver tableware. Since you already know the make and brand is Gorham Greenbrier, look at the hallmarks and make sure you know exactly what they mean. Other things to look for are the age and country of origin.

Based on this information, you may be able to assess whether the set has much market value or if it is better to sell for its melt value. If you feel the market value is high, a local consignment shop may take them for you, but consider that they will probably take about 40% to 50% of the sale price as their fee to put your set in their store. They will also take into consideration quality, brand, collectability and the completeness of your set whereas precious metal refiners will only look at the weight and purity of the silver content available to extract.

So, if you don’t think your set has much market value or don’t want to deal with the hassle of taking your items to a store or selling on eBay or Craigslist, you can send them in based on the melt value. As a silver refiner, we will pay you on the actual value of silver in your set. You can use our silver value calculator to find the approximate value of your items at market price.

Take into consideration that knife blades are often made from stainless steel. Also, some knife handles and serving piece handles are weighted, meaning that they are filled with another material making them heavier and so they fit better in a user’s hand. This will affect the sterling silver melt value. We would recommend taking the knives out from the group and weighing everything else separately.

Also, silver prices do change regularly so we pay 75% of the fine silver content based on the market price of the day received and can typically process your sterling scrap silver and return payment within 1-2 business days. For delivery we recommend shipping with the US Postal Service’s flat rate shipping boxes. Please request the “Delivery Signature Required” option. Hope this was helpful to you!

I have approximately 250 pieces of sterling silver flatware. My grandmother collected it over 50 years, not from one set, but from everywhere!  There may be closer to 300 pieces. From Greg in Farmington, Missouri

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your inquiry. We always recommend weighing silverware first before you ship. If you are sure that all the flatware from your grandmother is sterling, then we would recommend separating the knives from the batch and weighing those separately from forks and spoons. We tell people to do this because many times knife blades are stainless steel, not silver. Also, knife handles are sometimes filled with another metal. This is done to add weight to a utensil so that it sits better is a user’s hand.

If you do not know for sure if all your pieces are sterling, we would recommend trying to separate your pieces into one pile where you can find a marking indicating sterling and another “unidentified” group. We would recommend looking for markings or hallmarks at the base of the handle or back of the utensil. The following markings indicate sterling:

• Sterling
• .925
• 925/1000
• .800
• 800/1000
• .900
• 900/1000
• S
• SS

It would be helpful if you kept your piles separated during shipment, in bags work fine. We pay 75% of the fine silver content by weight on 925 silver. Let us know if you have any questions. We can take all your silverware, but we can only pay returns on sterling silver.

Watch a video about sterling silver flatware and see a refiner take apart some silver pieces.

I have several large silver serving trays I would like to sell and also a tea set with silver over copper. Would they be of any value to melt down? From Ryan in Phoenix, Arizona

Hi Ryan,

Silver serving trays can be worth a fair amount of money melted down but you need to make sure your materials are in fact sterling. Silver tableware pieces that we will be able to refine are usually marked or hallmarked with one of the following markings:

• Sterling
• .925
• 925/1000
• .800
• 800/1000
• .900
• 900/1000
• S
• SS

Markings on silverware can be located anywhere on the piece, but we see them most often on the backside close to the base of spoons, knives, and forks or on the back of the handle.

Because plated silver items have so little actual silver in them, they are not worth refining, consequently the tea set that you describe being copper and plated with silver will not be valuable to a precious metal refiner melted down. You may have more luck selling it online or checking with a local antique dealer.

If you are unsure about if your items are sterling silver or plated, watch this video that describes how to determine is a silver tray is sterling or plated.

Hi, I am wondering whether there is any value in recycling flatware that’s marked nickel silver, Panama silver, Brazil silver, Yukon silver, or Alaska silver? From Brandon in Wichita, Kansas

Hi Brandon,

Thanks for your question.. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but ironically it actually contains no elemental silver.

Nickel silver is different from plated silver in that nickel silver is not plated with silver and does not contain any real silver at all. Plated silver is metal that is actually covered in a very thin layer of silver. EP and EPNS are other markings that indicate plated silver.

Given that nickel silver has no actual silver content, it is not worth anything to precious metal refiners. Unfortunately, there is nothing of value to extract. With that being said, your pieces still might be worth something if you try to sell them on eBay or to a scrap metal dealer. Good luck!

If you have questions about silver war nickels visit our blog post “Silver Recovery from War Nickels”
Or visit our website for silver items that are valuable for their silver content on our Silver Refining webpage.

I have about 13 pounds of Anchor Hocking brand silver cookware and serving pieces. They are very old, dating back to the early 1900’s or before. Could you please tell me how much these are worth? From Kim in Long Beach, Florida

Hi Kim,

There are a couple things you should consider before sending your items in to be refined. The first thing is to make sure that your items are in fact sterling silver and not stainless steel or some other non-precious metal. The easiest way to do this is to look over your items to see if they are marked in someway with an 800, 900, or 925. If you do see these markings, then they are sterling silver and we could pay you for 75% of their fine silver value by weight.

It gets a little trickier if your items are not marked. When you say that you have “silver cookware,” if you are referring to pots and pans then it is unlikely that these are sterling, unless they were used as decorative pieces. Sterling silver serving pieces like gravy boats, trays and pitchers are common, but pots and pans were rarely made from silver.

Here are some markings indicating silver PLATED items:

• EP – electroplated means silver plated
• EPNS – electroplated nickel silver (ironic because there is not silver in nickel silver)

Sometimes you can tell the difference between sterling silver and other metals by the color of your items also. If you can see places where the silver appears to be worn away or flaked off then most likely you have silver plated items. Also if you try to polish your items and black tarnish rubs off, then that is a good indication that you have sterling silver, but not a guarantee.

As a precious metal refiner, we have sophisticated equipment that can test for precious metal content, but please note that we will only be able to return a payment back to you on sterling silver items.

I have silver tableware with the following markings: .925 fine silver | 5 troy ounces | id # 060061 | silver town. What do these mean? And what is the value of my items? – From Sue in Newark, New Jersey

Hi Sue,

It is better to have too many markings on your silverware than no markings! Your markings can give us a good indication of the value of your silver. I’ll try and break it down.

.925 fine silver means that your items are 92.5% silver.

5 troy ounces is the weight. Troy ounces are different than your standard ounce that you can find on a postal scale. Average ounces or standard ounces are called avoirdupois ounces.

The formula to change standard ounces to troy ounces is as follows:
Standard Ounce Weight x .912 = Troy Ounce Weight

For example:
16 standards ounces x .912 = 14.59 troy ounces

ID # is the number given to the items by the manufacturer. I am assuming that silver town is the manufacturer, although I cannot find a record of the company. This information might be important if you were trying to sell these items for their retail or collection value instead of their melt value.

We can offer 75% of your tableware’s fine silver content by weight. However, keep in mind that many times the knife blades are stainless steel as silver is too soft to create a reasonable cutting device, obviously this decreases their melt value as steel is not a precious metal. On heavy items like tableware and silverware, we recommend using the US Post Office’s flat rate, priority mail boxes because you can fit a lot of material without worrying about the weight. For more information about refining silverware, visit our website. Hope this information helps!

I have a sterling silver plated large serving tray and 2 wine goblets. What would the dollar valve be? From Karen in Southern California

Hi Karen,

I am sorry to tell you that we do not buy plated silver items because the silver is plated too thinly to return any money based on the precious metal content. You would be better off trying to sell these items as a serving tray and goblets.

Silver plating techniques have become very advanced so that the plating manufactures use the smallest amount of silver possible to get the desired silver sheen. Many times the silver plating is so thin that it can be scratched off by hard objects such as a coin or paperclip.

If you have a silver item that you don’t know is plated or silver, we recommend running a strong magnetic over the items. Precious metal is NOT magnetic, so if the magnetic sticks then your items do not have value based on their precious metal content. Find out more about our silver refining services on our website.

I have a Reed and Barton bowl marked 900. It weighs 30 troy ounces. What do you think this is worth? – From Ryan in Reno, Nevada

Hi Ryan,

We could offer to pay for 75% of your bowl’s fine silver content by weight. However, because your bowl is Reed and Barton which is a well known silver brand name, this item may have retail value that is beyond its precious metal value. By doing a quick Google search you can easily see how much Reed and Barton bowls are selling for today at places like Amazon.com and Macys.

If you bowl is in good condition, you may be better off polishing your bowl and selling it online. Even the silver plated Reed and Barton bowls have a high resell value. Make note of the year your bowl was made. However, sending in your bowl for the silver content is a great option if your bowl is dented or broken, which significantly decreases the resale value.

Watch a refiner demonstrate how to find the value of other silver items on this YouTube How to Value Sterling Silver Video.