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Question: I have a cake server and serving spoon that is stamped SILVER on it. Any idea if this stamp means plated or sterling?

Hi Josh,

Is that the only marking that your items have on it? Usually sterling silverware will have the purity of silver included. A stamp of .925 or 925 indicates sterling, meaning that sterling silver is 92.5% silver alloyed with 7.5% of something else. Other common markings that give indications about the purity of the silver include: 800, S, SS, STERLING, 900, or STANDARD.

We can not say what the purity of your silver cake server and sterling spoon is with the information that you provided. We would recommend trying to do some research to find out if you have sterling silver or not. If you know your items are old or could be considered antiques than you might want to have an antique dealer appraise your items.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to determine if you have sterling sliver, plated silver, or something else by just looking at it. There are test kits out there that require you to scratch through the coating. We use an XRF analytical machine that uses x-ray fluorescence, however on just a few items it might not be worth send them in for testing.

Also keep in mind that serving items are often weighted in the handles, so you may not have an accurate weight of silver in your items without taking out the weighted material.

Hope this helps!

*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 was talking to a friend who told me silver prices are at 30 year highs. The company we have been using at my hospital shreds our films and says it’s the law to do so. Once you factor in the shredding charge, we don’t get any money back for our film. Are we getting taken advantage of? I would think with prices where they are we should be getting something back? From Lori in Chicago, Illinois

Hi Lori,

The thing to keep in mind when you are selling x-ray film for the silver is that you need to have a substantial amount to make the freight and refining cost worth the effort. The amount of silver in one X-ray is negligible. However when you have 400 pounds or more of the material then you should expect to see a return, based on the silver price today.

You are correct when you say that silver is at an all time high today. Here is a quick bit of the history of silver in the United States. At the beginning of 1980 silver reached a record high of around $49.00 per troy ounce, however right after that it started to drop and in 1981 dropped to under $9.00 per troy ounce. After the huge drop it seemed like no one wanted to invest in silver anymore. In the last few years we have seen gold and silver prices climb. Other factors to consider include inflation and the value of the dollar. A dollar does not get you as far today as it did in 1980.

34 Year Silver Price Chart from Silverprice.org

There are government regulations in place when companies destroy personal information such as x-ray film. We follow HIPAA guidelines and provide certificates of destruction for our customers. When the company you are using say they are following the law by shredding these x-rays they might not actually be refiners, but only middlemen shredders. By shredding x-ray film they are destroying the material in a HIPAA compliant manner. However, if you have your film sent into a refiner, we do not shred the film but recover the silver and destroy it according to HIPAA rules. This is an issues that some of our customers had questions about so we addressed in our latest press release: Arch Enterprises Addresses Industry Concerns about X-Ray Recycling

How much x-ray film are you sending in at once? If you are sending more than 300-400 pounds at a time, then you should question the company you are using about a return.

I have about 28 ounces of EP catheters that I would like to sell for the platinum. How does your refining system work after you receive my material? From Judy in Nashville, Tennessee

Hi Judy,

After we receive your material we will analyze it to determine how much platinum is available for platinum recovery. Depending on how much analysis is needed, we can usually return a payment to you in 5-7 business days or less after the material is received. The turnaround time is usually a little faster and we will try and send payment in 3 business days.

We typically pay about 70% of the platinum content by weight. This will depend on the type of platinum EP catheter tips you have. Other factors that will determine the value of your items include the number of electrodes you have, diameter, and weight. The platinum content will vary based on the mentioned criteria.

For shipping we recommend sending your items in a padded mailer or double plastic bags. Makes sure that you choose the “Delivery Signature Required” option when you ship which will ensure that we have received your material.

We also ask that you prepare your EP Catheters by sterilizing the top prior to shipping. Use the method that your hospital recommends. You can also cut the wire so that you are only sending the part that contains platinum. Trimming the wire might also save you on postage and packaging.

My mom gave me her old sterling silver dinnerware set that she got from her mom. She told me to be careful with it because she said it came from my grandfathers first marriage. She thought it was originally from Virginia. It is a set of twelve with a serving set also. One dinner fork is missing. All have “sterling” inscribed on them. A few of the pieces have this information 1847 ROGERS BROS 6 and then it looks like a circle like O. Some other pieces have 1847 ROGERS BROS 12 with something at the end that looks like a circle or perhaps the inc. symbol? What do you feel I have going on here. And what do you think it may be worth? Thanks for your help. From Virginia in Newnan, Georgia

Hi Virginia,

Because the word “sterling” is marked on your silver pieces we can say with confidence that you have sterling silverware which is .925 silver or 92.5% silver. Bcause we are precious metal refiners we don’t know too much about sterling silver manufactures and brands. Doing some quick research online, I found that the 1847 date is the founding date of Rogers Brother and does not refer to the date your pieces were made.

Keep in mind that precious metal refiners, like Arch Enterprises will only pay customers based on the precious metal content of the items you send to us. It sounds like you have a pretty large set so I think it would be worth doing some research into exactly what you have and where the best place would be to sell.

Many sterling silver knives and serving pieces are weighted for usability purposes. So the handles are filled with some kind of cement or wax. We weigh these items separately from those that are 100% sterling such as forks and spoons. Once you separate out any pieces that might be weighted we would recommend weighing everything else on a postal scale. Then use our precious metal calculator which will give you a good idea of what your items are worth based on the silver value. (Make sure you check the 0.925 silver check box on the calculator).

Hope this information helps! Let us know if you need more information about selling your sterling silver to be recycled and refined.

Watch this video about finding the value of sterling silverware.

*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 two 14 K white gold weddings bands. Together they weigh about 0.35 ounces on the digital postal scale. How much do you think they are worth? Thanks. From Paul in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hi Paul,

There is usually not a significant difference in the melt value between white gold and yellow gold. The plating used over the gold to make it silver/white in color accounts for a very small portion of the ring’s weight.

I would recommend using our gold calculator to help determine how much your gold rings are worth.

First, visit our Gold Value Calculator. Most likely your postal scale measured in average or standard ounces, so choose that option.

Second, click on the silver/gold link that takes to the current precious metal prices. *Today gold is trading at $1,406.20 USD per troy ounce. Don’t worry that you weighed your items in standard ounces, because the calculator will convert the measurement for you. Plug the price of gold in the calculator and you should be ready to click the “Calculate Value” button. See the calculator screen shot below.

This calculator gives you the approximate market value of your items without anyone taking any percentages.

Third, visit our Payout Schedule page located here: http://www.archenterprises.com/precious-metal-payout-schedule.html. Since you have less than 0.5 fine ounces of gold we could pay you 70% of the fine gold content back to you.

*Gold price taken may not reflect the current price of gold.