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Does silver get black when it gets old and dirty? And does this affect the melt value? – John in Frenso, CA

When silver comes in contact with oxygen it oxidizes or turns black, this process is called tarnishing. No matter what form of silver your items are, sterling silver and pure silver alike tarnishes. The black/greenish substance that rubs off is called silver sulfate. Silver tarnishes not based on the type of silver, but based on the silver item’s environment. When materials like wool, rubber, fossil fuels and latex come in contact with silver it causes the item to tarnish more quickly. Also, the climate can affect this process. High humidity results in silver tarnishing faster and results in a darker and blacker form of tarnish build on the item.

As for the second part of the question, tarnish does NOT affect the melt value of items. Refiners will take silver items, not matter the condition. If you have scrap metal pieces, it could be to your benefit to not clean them. Tarnish does not just lay on the surface of silver, it is chemically bound to it. Harsh silver cleaning treatments could remove some of the silver content and affect its value.

As a warning, you should never clean silver with other metal items. A chemical reaction might occur resulting in a loss of silver off the item.

Note: If you have silver coins, you may want to be more careful in how you clean them. If you use a harsh cleaner or applicator you could destroy the original surface of the coin, significantly decreasing its numismatic value (more than its precious metal value). Consulting a coin dealer before you clean silver coins may be in your best interest.

1) Have reasonable expectations. Unless you know for a fact that you have valuable precious metal items, be prepared that there may be very little precious metal available for extraction. Also keep in mind that a refiner’s offer only reflects the value of the item by weight and quantity alone, not the retail value.

2) Do your homework. So you are not surprised, try to assess how much your items are worth beforehand. This could include several steps such as researching precious metals online, making a trip to a local jeweler or requesting an online estimate. Also, remember to remove stones and any other non-metal materials before sending them to the refiners.

3) When you’re ready to sell, research a dealer you are comfortable with. There are many gold buying scams out there that you want to stay away from. Here are some tips to avoid being taken advantage of:

• Determine if the dealer is a middleman or the refiner. A middleman will buy your items for less in order to resell to a refiner and turn a profit. Refiners have more knowledge of the actual process and can offer a better price than a middleman. Arch Enterprises is a refiner and offers between 60%-90% of the metal value to sellers.
• Look for creditability through who endorses the company. If reputable companies stand by a refiner, this reflects positivity on their business dealings. Arch Enterprises is endorsed by the Missouri Dental Association and the Kansas Dental Association.

4) Insure your items through the mail. Make a note of what you’re sending off by writing descriptions, taking pictures or both.

5) Be organized. Cover all your bases by making copies of all the documents you send and receive to keep for your records, including emails. Even record all phone calls with the date, time and information discussed.

6) If you have a positive experience selling your precious metals, tell others and spread the word.

I have boxes of various silver pieces from a tea set originally from Russia. I would like to know how I could sell it and its worth. Thank you. From AJ in Chicago, Illinois

Hi AJ,

The first thing to check for is if there are any Hallmarks on your silver pieces. Hallmarks are indications of metal content, and sometimes the maker’s mark or signature is also included. You mainly want to determine if your silver pieces are sterling silver, some other metal or plated silver.

In Russia, two-digit numbers refer to zolotnicks, which is a Russian weight measure where there are 96 zolotniki to a troy pound, thus:

96 zolotniki = 96/96 or 1000/1000 parts pure silver or .1000 silver
90 zolotniki = 90/96 or 937/1000 parts pure silver or .937 silver
84 zolotniki = 84/96 or 875/1000 parts pure silver or .875 silver
72 zolotniki = 72/96 or 750/1000 parts pure silver or .750 silver
62 zolotniki = 62/96 or 645/1000 parts pure silver or .645 silver

Usually the zolotniki is indicated by 62, 72, 74, 76, 82, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91.

The hallmark is the only part of the markings that indicate its precious metal value. Sometimes other markings give indications of such things as the date, maker and place of origin. These are all things that might be important to an antiques dealer or silver collector. Typically sterling silver pieces that are dented, broken, scratched or in less than ideal condition are good contenders to sell for their precious metal value to refiners. If you believe that your pieces are valuable based on their craftsmanship or antique qualities you may want to have them professionally appraised.

When silver comes into our refinery, we test it based solely on the silver content that is available to refine. Whether it’s made in the United States or Russia we return 75% of the fine silver value to customers for sterling silver pieces.

Is a silver tea service generally more valuable than the silver content? From Heidi in Central Missouri.

Hi Heidi,

There is not an easy yes or no answer to this question. There are many factors that you need to consider if you are thinking of reselling silver tea service such as the condition, completeness, brand, quality and collectability. As refiners, we only take into account the market price of silver and the fine silver content by weight.

Given this, pieces that are broken or damaged are ideal for refining. We are also sent lot of mismatched sets and random silverware that do not go with a larger collection. If you have any of these items, selling for the silver content would probably be your best way to go.

If you have a branded, complete set that is in good condition, you might want to have it appraised by an antique dealer and sell it to them or consider selling on eBay or Craigslist.  Of course, an antique dealer or Pawn shop will probably offer you a fraction of its market value as they need to sell it at market price and make a profit and eBay and Craigslist have drawbacks as well.

Also, the price of silver changes daily. In the past 52 weeks the silver price has fluctuated between $13.27 USD and $19.80 USD. When selling to a refiner, we would recommend keeping an eye on the price of silver and knowing their turnaround time. Here are a few blog posts that deal with sterling silver that might be helpful:

Silver Cookware and Serving Pieces
What Do All These Markings Mean on My Silverware
Refining Silver Flatware and Tableware

If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can evaluate the many options you have and see where you think that you will get the best return.  You can estimate the silver value by using our silver value calculator.

Hello, I have several old x-rays that have been deemed trash and I have been left in charge of destroying/recycling them. I’ve been told that you can melt them down and get silver from them. Is this true? Who would I need to talk to about having this done? Thank you! From Kevin in Charleston, West Virginia

Hi Kevin,

X-ray film does contain silver that can be extracted by precious metal refiners like Arch Enterprises, but each individual X-ray contains a very small amount of silver, so even sending a few pounds of film is typically not worth the shipping cost. To make refining X-ray film worthwhile, one typically needs at least 300-400 pounds of X-ray film.

Refining X-ray film is not a simple process. The melting process utilizes refining equipment that will withstand very high heats for extracting the silver from the other components of the X-ray film. Additionally, if you are dealing with medical information, we typically need to follow HIPAA compliant guidelines during the refining process.

We would recommend taking all film out of any paper jackets and storing in large 500 gallon drums. If you have more than a couple drums then it would be worth the shipping costs to refine this material.