Category Archives: Silver

I am looking to sell my sterling siver .925 beads as “scrap” metal. Do you buy this kind of silver? Thank you. From Brian in Fort Dodge, Iowa

Hi Brian,

Thank you for your question! Arch purchases and refines really anything made from sterling silver. These scrap sterling silver beads that you describe sound like the ideal type of material for a refiner. We work with many jewelers and others that sometimes have these beads left over from projects or because they have given up the jewelry making hobby or business.

We only offer return for the silver value. The beads actually get melted down in the refining process and put back into industries that use it.

We would need to know how much of this material you have before we can recommend shipping methods and give you an estimate on your items. If you only have a couple beads, than it might not even be worth shipping. However, if you have pounds of beads or a large amount we can work with you to purchase. Also, unless the beads are marked in some way, we might have to run some analytical tests to test the purity – but let’s go down that road when we come to it.

Let us know if you have more questions or if you would like a silver estimate, you can visit our form to give us some more information about your sterling silver beads.

Here is a previous blog article about “Raw Silver Beads: Value of Raw Silver Beads” that might help you out! Thank you for your question.

*Images 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 133 pieces of Towle Sterling Silver flatware purchased 39 years ago. How should I weigh these sterling silver pieces? Thanks from Jan in St. Louis, MO.

Hi Jan,

We recommend using a postal scale or food scale to weigh your sterling silverware. You might have to weigh each one at a time, but it will be more accurate than using a scale that you step on for your own weight. Each of the same fork, spoon or knife should have the same weight. So, you might only have to weigh one of each. However if some pieces are broken or worn, they can weigh less than other pieces.

Another thing that we tell people is that many times knifes and serving pieces have weighted handles. So if you weigh these pieces without considering the extra weight that is not sterling silver, it will skew your results. The only way to really tell how much weight to take out is by taking apart the knife/piece and removing the weight which can be made from wax or other material.

Here is a video of Arch literally taking apart a sterling silver knife weight to see what is inside.

We would only do this if you are sure you are going to refine your pieces. Removing the weight could damage the pieces beyond repair.

The bottom line is that you want to weigh all your pieces that you know are pure sterling silver separately from the pieces that may have weights in them.

Once you have an accurate weight of the silver, plug it into our silver calculator with the current price of silver. This will give you an idea about how much your silver is worth. We would also recommend Requesting an Estimate once you get your silver weight.

Here are some more blog posts about shipping and selling sterling silver.
https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/sterling-silver-buyers/
https://www.precious-metal-refining.info/how-to-sell-your-precious-metal-items/

*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.

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.

Does gold over sterling jewelry have any value as scrap? Thanks! From Sherri in San Antonio, Texas

Hi Sherri,

We have been getting a lot of questions about silver and gold plated material. In most plating situations the plate really does NOT have any value. Silver and gold plating techniques have made it so that only a very small amount of actual gold or silver is used in the plate and makes it impossible to recover or separate from the metal underneath.

We tell people that it is the metal UNDER the plate that will either have value or not. In your case, if your jewelry is sterling silver than your pieces would have value for the silver only, not the gold.

In other cases where the metal under the plate is a “base metal” – iron, nickel, lead, zinc or copper, the value of the pieces will be significantly less than those made with a precious metal – gold, silver, and platinum. As precious metal refiners, Arch would NOT be able to refine anything made from one of the listed base metals.

If you would like an estimate on your sterling silver jewelry, please give us some more information about your pieces on our Request an Estimate Form. Thanks!

*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 84 1971-76 Eisenhower dollars From Dee in Camden, AR

Hi Dee,

Eisenhower or “Ike” silver dollars are tricky because there were two versions made between 1971 and 1976.

The first is the Eisenhower silver dollars that were made NOT for circulation. These were meant for purchase by collectors, were in special packaging and not released for circulation. These coins are composed of 60% copper and 40% silver. These coins will have an S marking on them indicating that they contain silver. In mint condition, an Ike Dollar will have 0.3162 ounces of silver.

The second, more common type of Ike dollar was also made between 1971 and 1978 and was the first dollar coin released for general circulation NOT made of silver. These are made of mostly copper and DO NOT contain any silver and also referred to as clad coins.

Besides the S marking, you can tell the difference between these two types of Ike dollars by their weight. Because they are composed of different metals, they have different weights.

The copper-nickel (clad) version weighs 22.68 grams (may be less due to wear)

The copper-silver (silver) version weighs 24.59 grams (may be less due to wear)

Our advice is to go through all of your Ike dollars and separate out the ones with silver. Those would be the only ones that we could offer you a return on your silver. Visit our website about other silver coins to sell for refining.

Hope that helps!

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.

Hello, do you buy sterling silver flatware or do you just refine? If you buy how do you pay and how long does the process take? From Richard in Tucson, AZ

Hi Richard,

Good question. There are so many different gold and silver buyers out there that it is hard to know which ones are middle men or the actual end refiners.

Arch Enterprises buys gold and silver AND refines it. You will find that many refineries will not work with individuals with precious metals. They will only work with businesses and/or large industrial companies to refine. We have found that is it profitable for both parties to accept lots of silver and gold from households. Because of the energy that goes into refining precious metals, we do have some minimums in place. For example, it would not be worth sending in one silver spoon to a refinery.

OUR PROCESS

1. We would recommend either calling or filling out our Request an Estimate form so both parties have a better idea about how much the material is worth and how much we can return.
2. Complete a packing slip to ship with your materials and request the “delivery signature required” option.
3. We will review your material and mail a payment to you in 3-5 business days or less after the material is received.

You can read more about our process on our website. Thanks!

*Images displayed is 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.