Category Archives: Silver

Question: What does the stamp “Plat Furo” mean inside my engagement ring? From Kathryn in Danbury, CT

Answer:

With the price of platinum rising above the price of gold, this precious metal is the commodity of the week! So thanks for your question about your platinum ring.

Though there are not as many hallmark variations for platinum jewelry as gold and silver, when deciphering platinum hallmarks you still must take in to account the purity, time period, manufacturer and place of origin for your piece.

“Plat” obviously means platinum, however we’re not sure what “Furo” means next to it. Are there any other markings? We would be looking for a number that indicates the purity/grade of your platinum ring. Below are some common markings we see:

850 (85% Platinum)
900 (90% Platinum)
950 (95% UK Standard Platinum)
999 (99.9% Pure Platinum)

If your ring is new, I would think that it would have one of these common platinum markings. If it does not have one of those, you may want to have a jeweler look at it for purity. While most of our platinum posts are about industrial platinum refining, here are a few about platinum jewelry that may help also:

https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/is-there-any-way-to-tell-if-my-platinum-ring-is-pure-platinum/
https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/where-to-sell-platinum-wedding-rings-precious-metal-refining-blog/

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

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

Question/Answer: I have a few hundred pounds of used industrial x-ray film, 15 or so pounds of silver flake and a couple of hundred gallons of used fixer. What can I estimate its worth and do you know who would buy it? From Levi in Tucson, Arizona

Hi Levi,

A silver refinery such as Arch Enterprises would probably be the best place to see your items. With more industrial/manufacturing items such as you have, it is not as likely that you can sell to a pawn shop or retailer. If you go to a scrap yard, they may buy your items, but they really have no way to recover the silver from them, so most likely they would just sell to a silver refinery and give you only a fraction of the silver value.

Image: Harvested Silver Flake

Working directly with the refinery ensures that you are getting the most for your silver items. We can also help arrange the freight if you need. Unless you have the appropriate paper work on the grade of your silver flake and fixer, we would need to run tests to see how much silver is available to recover from it. For refining X-rays, you may want to wait until you have at least 300-400 pounds of x-ray film (out of the paper jackets) before you ship. This way the shipping will be worth the cost. Without knowing how much silver we could recover from your material, it would be difficult to provide a dollar amount estimate at this time. But it sounds like what you have is ideal for a precious metal refinery.

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

I have 12 pounds of raw silver beads. What are they worth? From Jody in Little Rock, Arkansas

Hi Jody,

First you will need to determine if the raw silver beads you have are 925 sterling silver, meaning 92.5% silver or another concentration? For 925 silver we pay for 75% of the fine silver content by weight. It is very difficult to determine the concentration of raw materials like the ones you describe without the proper testing equipment. If you don’t know the concentration of your silver beads, we can test your material with our analytical equipment. We just need a few of your beads beforehand so you don’t have to send in your full shipment.

If your silver beads are plated silver then we will not be able to offer you a return for them. Without the correct testing equipment it can be difficult to determine the silver concentration of your material. Here is a video showing how we test silver material that comes to our refinery.

Question: What does 555 stamped on a sterling silver tea set mean? From Terry in Chicago, IL

Hi Terry,

Because there are so many different stamps for silver items such as tea sets, serving dishes and silverware, identifying what all these mean can be difficult. You have to consider that silver has been produced for centuries in several different countries. Also, these items are always alloyed with another type of metal, so the trick becomes determining how much actual silver your items contain compared to other non-precious, alloy metals such as copper and nickel.

From our experience as precious metal refiners (not antique dealers or silverware experts) a stamp of “555” does not indicate sterling. Instead we usually look for a “925” to indicate sterling silver. Our best advice would be to do the following:

1. Check if you items are in fact sterling silver. This will probably influence the value of your items the most, especially if you are going to sell to a refiner for the silver value.
2. Check to see if your items have any collectable value or value as antiques. Sometimes pieces can have value beyond the precious metal value.
3. Based on the answers you find in 1 and 2, decide what the right place is to sell your items. As precious metal refiners, we cannot give returns on silverware that is plated.

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

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

I have 6.9 lbs. of silver oxide batteries from watches. Can you refine this material? From Michael in Islandton, South Carolina

Hi Michael,

Yes, we do have the capabilities to extract silver from silver oxide batteries. Not only can we return a profit to you for the silver, but we also recycle the other potentially environmental harmful materials contained in silver oxide batteries. We pay per pound on silver oxide batteries.

For those of you that don’t know, silver oxide batteries are often referred to as silver zinc, watch batteries or button cell batteries. These are regularly used in products such as, hearing aids, watches, cameras and calculators.

Learn more about our silver oxide battery recycling program on our website.