Category Archives: Forum Questions

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 2 silver bars that I had bought back in 1981. One of the bars is 101.16 oz. the other is 25.11oz. They are both .999. I had purchased them from Tri State Refining & Investment Co. I would like to know what they could be sold for? Thank you, from Gene in Camanche, Iowa

Hi Gene,

Can you believe that 30 years have past since you purchased those silver bars?

You actually choose a great time to purchase your silver bars as the price of silver in 1981 dropped considerably compared to what it was in 1980, making the beginning of the 90s a bad time to sell. However, the price of silver has risen steadily over the last 10 years, surpassing 1980s high that peaked at around $49 per troy ounce. More about the history of silver prices can be found on The Silver Institute’s website: www.silverinstitute.org.

We offer a precious metal calculator tool that can give you a good indication of what your material is worth when you sell it to a refiner. You simply put in the weight and purity of your silver and enter in the current price of silver. Since the price of silver changes daily, go to money.cnn.com.data/commodities.index.html for the updated silver prices. *Today silver is trading at $28.32 USD/troy ounce.

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.

I have some silver flatware marked 70%, and one marked SSS. Is there ANY value at all ? From Gwen in Salem, Oregon

Hi Gwen,

We are not familiar with the marking SSS as an indication of the grade of silver you have. Usually sterling silver is stamped with an S or SS. An SSS might mean your item is stainless steel. Do you have any other information about this flatware piece?

To sell sterling silver, it must be 925 or 92.5% silver. All other markings mean that it is some other type of silver. Different markings can indicate that it was made somewhere else since each country has their own system for hallmarking precious metals manufactured in that country.

Is it an exact “70%” that is stamped on your silver? Or does it look like “.700” or “700?” All of these could mean that you silver flatware is 70% silver alloyed with 30% of some other metal (s). For items that we are unsure about, we run XRF analytic tests to determine how much silver, if any, is available to refine. If you have a large amount of this material, we would recommend sending us an item that we can test before you send the whole lot.