Where to Sell Sterling Silver Flatware Set

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 is becoming a more common question as it becoming outdated, hard to manage and more valuable refined and melted than sitting in a closet.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.

Silver Value Calculator

*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.


Sell 22 Karat Yellow Gold From India

Question: I have 59.50 grams of 22 kt yellow gold of handmade jewelry from India. Includes 1 necklace, 2 bracelets and 2 earrings. — From Aasha in Dallas, Texas

BlingHi Aasha,

Thank you for your submission. Gold jewelry from India is usually of very high quality and made with a very high gold content, giving the gold a yellow color. 22k gold is 91.52% gold alloyed with 8.48% of some other type of metal.

Are there any hallmarks or markings that prove the purity of your items? Since you indicated that your items are handmade, we are guessing that there are not hallmarks. We run unmarked pieces through our XRF analytical testing machine that uses x-ray technology to tell what these pieces are composed of. We find that with handmade jewelry from India the standard percent of 22k is not always exact. Sometimes there is a little more and sometimes a little less to recover.

As precious metal refiners, we will pay on the value of your items according to how much gold there is to refine (weight), how high of gold content your items are (purity), and the current price of gold.

Also keep in mind that gold is measured in troy ounces. 59.50 grams = 1.913 troy ounces. Based on our payout schedule, we would be able to offer 85% of the gold value back to 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.


Where to Sell Sterling Silver Scrap Beads

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,

iStock_000020801642SmallThank 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.


Refine & Sell Towle Sterling Silver Flatware

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,Towle Sterling Silver

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.


Gold Over Sterling Silver Jewelry Value

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

Hi Sherri,

Pendant on golden chain isolated on the whiteWe 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.