Category Archives: Silver

Question: Is all silver plated flatware brass underneath? From Estella in Grand Rapids, MI

Hi Estella,

Thanks for your question. Not all silver plated flatware is brass underneath. Silver plated flatware will usually be copper based (like brass) or nickel based. Usually flatware is not a pure copper base, as copper is too weak. Brass is actually an alloy of copper and zinc. Most often scrap metal yards will purchase brass plated flatware for the copper.

Flatware made with nickel is worth more than flatware made with copper. Pure nickel under silver plate is an older plating method and rarely used anymore. If you have pure nickel plated flatware, we would guess that you have older flatware that may be worth more as antiques than for the scrap nickel value. Nickel is magnetic, whereas sterling silver, copper brass and cupronickel (below) are not.

There is also cupronickel which is an alloy of copper and nickel. There are different grades or alloys of cupronickel. If you have a high percentage of nickel compared to the copper, try to sell to a scrap dealer for the nickel value. Some may just give you the brass price.

Scrap Metal Junkie is a website that we found that comments about scrap metal like we do about precious metals. If you think that your items could be sterling silver (not plated), then a precious metal refiner could be the right fit for you.

*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.

Do you know of a place to sell silver from dental x-rays? From Denny in Panama City, Florida

Hi Denny!

You have come to the right place! We have the capabilities to handle large shipments of x-ray film here at our refining facility in Mexico, Missouri including those from dental offices.

Here are the bullet point things to keep in mind. And we have also included some of our past blog articles about selling x-ray film:

• Quantity: You will need to send at least 300-400 pounds of X-ray film, removed from the paper jackets, to receive a payment and recover the shipping cost.
• Shipping: We would recommend filling one or two 50 gallon drums of X-ray film and then shipping the film in the drums.
• Sorting: We can help sort and purge x-rays in eight states including Alabama, Northern Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Which would include Panama City if you have enough material to need the service.

We currently work with eight of the top 100 hospital groups in the country and are able to process large amounts of film with quick turnaround time. Please inquire further either by phone or on our contact forms as to the amount of x-rays you have and needed services dealing with selling dental x-ray film.

Check out these blog articles:

How Much Is Silver In X-Ray Film Worth?

Recycling X-Ray Film

How To Sell Medical X-Rays

I have about 12 ounces of jewelry scrap from about 60 years ago. I think it might be gold but have not gotten a definitive answer yet. Can I send you some samples? I also have 5 to 10 pounds of old sterling silver and would like to know its value (buckles, money clips, pins, etc.) Can you also let me know if you would be interested in buying it? Thanks. From Mary in Rochester, New York

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your question. Sounds like you are doing some cleaning which could result in some extra cash for you, which is always a plus.

Since you are unsure about the purity of your gold items, we would test your pieces, refine gold that is9 karat purity (37.44% gold) or more and then either send back what is not able to refine or we could recycle it for you. If you have specific instructions for us, please indicate those on our packaging slip.

5-10 pounds of sterling silver is a large range. If your pieces are pure sterling silver, 92.5% silver, at a $35 silver price, 5 pounds of sterling silver could be worth over $2,000 silver value.  Arch would be able to pay 75% of the silver value back to you on your pieces. However, if not all of your pieces are sterling, we would recommend sorting the items you know are sterling and then check to see if your other pieces are sterling or not.

It may be better to send all of your pieces together, but would help if you kept the gold separated from the silver in different bags.

Hope that helps! Let us know if you have any more questions. Or you can upload an image to show up on our Contact Form.

*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 40,000 oz of silver in sludge of 2 mm lbs. Where can I get it refined? From Robert in Indianapolis, Indiana

Hi Robert,

The silver sludge material you describe would be best to sell to a precious metal refiner, as it is not feasible to walk into a pawn shop or other retail establishment to sell.

We recommend having at least 5 pounds of silver sludge material to justify the freight and refining costs. Of course you are way over this minimum recommendation at 40,000 ounces which is about 2,499.99 pounds.

The value of the silver sludge will depend on how much silver is available to refine. Refining photographic sludge often contains about 60 to 80 percent silver, but we can determine a more accurate percentage when we get it in our lab and run analytical tests.

If you are unsure about the amount of silver in your silver sludge, you might send a sample to us, before shipping the 2,000+ pound shipment of material. As you have a large amount of material, we can help arrange freight to our facility.

Thanks for your question Robert!

*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.

Question: I have a 69 piece sterling silver flatware set that weights a total of 104.55 ounces mad by International Company. Included in the set are 10 knives, one pie server, and one cheeses server, which all have stainless steel blades. All of the rest of the metal is sterling silver. – Thanks from Bonnie in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Hi Bonnie,

“Where to sell sterling silver flatware?” is becoming a more common question as it becoming outdated, hard to manage and more valuable refined and melted than sitting in a closet.

Thank you for mentioning the pieces that you have in your sterling silverware set that are made with other metals. Did you include these in your total weight of 104.55 ounces you gave? We would recommend weighing these items separately then you will have one weight that you know is all sterling made up of forks and spoons, and a second weight that is not all sterling made up of your knives and other sterling pieces.

For .925 sterling silver flatware we pay 75% of the fine silver content by weight. If you use our silver value calculator, an estimate of what you would receive back is 75% of that total that it gives. The calculator on our website does not take out any percentages. It provides market indications of what your gold and silver is worth if it were in an investment grade form.

Below is a screen shot where we plugged in the daily silver price (currently at $33.66/troy ounce), 104.55 average ounces, and .925 grade silver.

*This price may not reflect the current price of silver when this blog entry was posted.The output from the calculator is not a confirmation of the purchase price from Arch Enterprises.

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.