Value of Silver Plated Flatware
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.
Tags: plated silver, Silver, silver tableware, silverware
April 29th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Interesting reply. So if I understand you..
IF the magnet DOES NOT stick to the item in question it has enough silver to refine and if the magnet DOES stick to the item in question it is of NO refining value.
I have two piles in front of me right now.
The right pile sticks to my magnet. So it has no refining value.
The left pile does NOT stick to my magnet. So it HAS refining value.
If I understand it correctly you’ve been a big help.
Thank You,
Nick
May 7th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Hi Nick,
Thanks for trying out our magnet test. However this test cannot stand alone to determine if your items are a precious metal, and further it can not determine the amount of precious metal your items might contain. This is a good START to determining if your items have refining value. You would be correct in that your pile that DOES stick to the magnet does NOT have value to refine, because precious metals are not magnetic.
The pile that is not sticking to your magnetic could have value, however if your items are not marked or hallmarked, we would test them to determine the amount of precious metal available to refine. At least now you can rule out the magnetic pile and focus on finding out if the other non-magnetic pile has refining value.
Thanks!
July 31st, 2010 at 10:14 am
i read your coment above to check with a magnet. now i am really confused, i have a punch bowl, 12 cups,
laddle and tray by wallace grand barough and on it says silverplated but it does not stick to a magner.
can you please provide any info on this subject.
thank you.
August 31st, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Hi Diane,
Not all silver plated items will stick to a magnet. This is just a simple test to use on items that are not marked at all.
Regardless if your silver plated items are magnetic or not, silver plated items do not contain enough silver to refine.
Hope this clears things up for you. Thanks!