I have a 51 piece 24K gold plated flatware set that is supposed to contain 63 pieces (I’m missing 12 salad forks.) If it were a full set, it’s only going for about $50 on E-Bay. It is not marked 24K, but the certificate included with the set states they guarantee it to be so. So let’s just assume this to be true. Would I be better off to sell this online for $40 or $50 or sell it as gold scrap? Thanks. – Mark in Las Vegas, Nevada
Gold Plated Flatware
Hi Mark:
Unfortunately, plated gold flatware typically only contains a microscopic layer of gold. In most cases, the flatware is plated so thinly that it costs more in energy and time to remove the gold than the gold is worth. Therefore, most precious metal refiners cannot offer payment for gold plated items.
However, the value of your flatware depends greatly on the metal underneath the gold plating. In some cases, manufacturers plated the gold over sterling silver. If your set is gold on sterling silver, the set should be worth more than $50.00 for the silver value (market price of silver and weight depending). If they are gold plate on stainless or copper or another base metal you are best to sell them on ebay.
To give you a feel for the melt value, we buy sterling silver by weight and pay around $175 a pound at this time.* If you want to determine what metal is under the gold plating, you can send us one piece to test in our XRF analytical lab to determine if it is silver underneath the gold or you might be able to dig up some information by calling/writing the manufacturer.
You can see how the XRF machine works Arch Enterprises Video Site.
* Price reflects the price of silver when this blog article was published and my not reflect the current price of silver, which changes daily.
45 comments
I have this dinner ware that is gold looking. It has a red wood handle and on top is a goddess looking figure and under this figure the word siam.
thank you
Connie
Hi Connie,
Is this goddess looking figure silver or gold? Do you see any markings on the silverware such as 925, sterling or SS? These would indicate that they are made with sterling silver and we could refine.
It sounds like you may have gold plated flatware. And unfortunately, like the response we gave above to Mark we cannot return payment on gold plated items unless what is under the gold plate is sterling silver.
Hope this helps. Thanks!
I had a similiar inquiry about the value of gold silver flatware. Your information was very helpful in making a decision to what to do with such flatware. I am worthy to take food off the pieces! I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but in my adulthood I deserve the finery,until I need the cash!
i have a 24k gold plated precious bill elliott 1989 /1999. how much can i get?
My uncle recently passed away and left us 6 place settings (7 pieces in each place setting plus ice teaspoons) of gold flatware. We also have 6 steak knives. On the box it just says, SCC in an old English font. Each piece has a mark that is a two sided inverted “V” with an “S” in the middle. My uncle spent a lot of time in Japan after WWII.
I have 5 Gold bars that are 1 ounce .999 500mg fine plated gold over silver and copper. I also have 1 gram of raw placer gold from a claim in a nearby stream. Where do I sell these. What are they worth.
I have a gold flatware set new, never used(still sealed in plastic) in the box that was inherited from my grandmother. It is from W M Rogers and Sons china. I cant find anything out about it on their website. how much do you think it might be worth?
Hello!
For those of you that have gold PLATED silverware, the gold plate does not have value to a precious metal refiner. However, it is the metal UNDER the plate that may have value. If it is sterling silver under the plate than a precious metal refiner may be your best way to go. If it is copper or some other non-precious metal than you may get some return back from a scrap metal dealer.
Diane – I am guessing that your “gold flatware” is only gold plate. Since it is in new condition, you may be able to resell it for its inherent value, and NOT its precious metal value.
We have a set of Alpaca Gallo gold plated flatware. The flateware consists of small pieces with some sort of carving in black on the handles. Is this worth anything?
Greetings @Emma. Gold plated flatware often has very little value, so if these pieces provide sentimental value to you, it may be worth holding on to. That being said, it sounds like your flatware has quite a bit of character so a collector may find them particularly attractive. Good luck!
I have Golden Cutlery flatware from The Plaza Hotel in NY from the 70’s. How do I find out what it is worth or if it is real gold or just gold plated?
Hi, i have 2 sets of silverware one gold plated, and the other silver , silver still in box an i am wondering if there is any place here in spokane wa i can sell it???
hi my sister as a 50 piece gold plated cutlery set all complete in own original box how much you recommend to sell it made in thailand
do you buy silver
Hi @Sarah Deweese. We most definitely buy certain silver items. Examples of the silver items we buy include but are not limited to, silver jewelry, gold jewelry, sterling silver flatware, silver serving sets, silver coins, x-ray films, and photographic film & paper. Find more information about our silver refining services here: http://www.archenterprises.com/silver-refining.html
hi..i have and old fork and spoon.Those fork and spoon have name alpaca. how much worth….
Hi Maricel —
After doing some digging Alpaca silver is also known as Nickel silver and is actually an alloy of a bunch of different metals, none of which are actual sterling silver. Here is some more information about Nickel Silver http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/what-is-nickel-silver/
Because your items do not actually made of silver, we would not be able to refine.
Best,
Arch
I have 6 gold plated (entire) dessert spoons. They are plated over sterling silver, bought in Germany. I have no idea of worth and would like to know what to polish them with that wouldn’t harm the pieces. The back of the spoon R&B 90.
Hi Cynthia! Unfortunately, we aren’t researchers or retailers and are not sure if your pieces are sterling silver or silver-plated. Since your pieces have only the number “90” stamped on them and no word such as “sterling” or the numbers “800”, “900”, or “925” stamped on them, that could very likely mean your items are silver-plated and not sterling. As a precious metals refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of silver or precious metal there is to refine. So, regrettably, you’d need to do a little more research to find out if it is sterling silver or not before sending it in to be refined. If you do find that your items contain silver, please fill out our Request form here http://www.archenterprises.com/contact-us.html with the weight. THANKS!
I just purchased this gold-plated flatware set from I.S. CO. All I want to know is can I use them????? I love the gold tone and intend to “use them as our regular silverware, will they fade in time, what if any, is their life span if care is taken in cleaning them. Thanks
Hi Lynda,
Unfortunately that is not our area of expertise. I would try and consult the manufacturer about how to care for your set.
Best – Arch
My uncle brought my grandmother some gold ware from overseas in the 60’s . Someone told me that it was plated. I then checked one of the pieces and it was gold all the way through is this possible and how can I find out the value of this item
Hi Jason,
Thank you for visiting our blog! With any jewelry piece like what you describe, as precious metal refiners, we only will take in consideration the weight of the precious metal. Also to refine, we take apart the entire piece in order for it to go through the refining process. To get the best idea about the value of your watch we would take it apart to the point where you only have the gold pieces, so take out all of the watch mechanisms and any other metal that is not gold. Weigh just the gold that you have left then use our gold calculator with the daily price of gold.
Then we would recommend that you contact us on our RFQ form here for a refining estimate!
I have 102 pieces of International Silver’s “Americana Golden Heritage: Golden Scroll” pattern which is in mint condition. I am trying to find someone who knows if it was Gold Plated over Sterling Silver or not. The stamping on the back says: “Americana Golden Heritage” with an I and S stamped after it. Of course, the IS stands for International Silver. Did they, or did they not, manufacture anything that was not Sterling Silver?
Hi Jeannette,
If you are not seeing a stamping that would indicate sterling such as an “S” “SS” or “STERLING” marking, chances are that you do not in fact have sterling. We find that only very old pieces or pieces that may have been manufactured internationaly have different or no markings to indicate sterling. With that said here is a website that lists lots of silverware patterns http://www.replacements.com/webquote/INSGOSAGH.htm. Just searching for the pattern you listed came up with a listing that is described as “Gold Electroplate.” Check if that is what you have. In most cases gold electroplate is used on top of stainless or copper or another base metal. Since your set is in good condition you would probably be better off selling it on ebay or as set.
Ive recently aquired an item from an auction its a 24k gold electroplated gold anniversary platter im aware of what the solid gold price wpuld be but i am out of my eliment of knowledge with electroplated stuff i did weaigh it and it was 15.2 grams any help as to selling price wpuld be greatly appeeciated…. Thank you and have a blessed day
Hi Stephanie,
Electroplate is a plating process in which a very thin layer of gold is used to coat another type of metal. And as this post indicates, it is usually plated on a non precious metal — so would not be worth anything to us as a precious metal refiner. In some instances, we find that gold plate was used over sterling silver, if that is the case, we could refine your piece for the silver. Your best bet would be to go somewhere local to find out exactly what the metal under the plate is. Once you know that you will have a better idea if it has precious metal value or not.
I have a gold plated set made in Italy and I don’t know what to do with it. But is it worth anything or should I just throw it out?
Hi Davina,
I wouldn’t throw it out. If the metal under the gold plate is Sterling Silver than it has silver value. I would make sure that you are not throwing out sterling silver. However, in most cases it is NOT sterling. In that instance, you may be better off looking to see to a reseller of tableware or even a scrap metal buyer. Hope that helps. http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/old-gold-tableware/ http://www.precious-metal-refining.info/where-to-sell-gold-plated-flatware-arch-metal-refining/
I also have a Silverware set too.how much do I think I can sell it and where?
Hi Davina,
Again in this case you need to find out if you have sterling silver or if it just a silver plate. If it is sterling we would be able to refine for the silver value of your items. If you find you have sterling please fill out our request form. We will give you an estimate based on the daily silver price then you can choose to ship your materials to Arch or not. Thank you!
I have a adis hand made in Greece 24k gold plate what would that be worth
Hi Joyce. Is your whole plate 24k gold? Or is it gold plated? It would be very unusual to find a whole plate that is made from 24k gold. If what you have is gold plated, we probably would not be able to offer a return on a gold plated item. If you would like you can send us a picture may be helpful in this case and also provide us the weight of your piece. Best, Arch. http://www.archenterprises.com/contact-us.html
I have a number of spoons that have extremely old marking on back. There are 5 on each gold spoon. The gold is more in the soft metal stage as opposed to stainless steel or silver plated.
I’ve studied markings online and I’m possibly finding 1700’s to 18oo’s in these markings. Some are square. Some are rectangular. Some have an animal in marking. Some have a star. It has me perplexed.
Where do you recommend I go for help? Thank you for your time. Suzanne B
I have some dinning ware that has writing on the back that says 24 K Gold and a name it’s older and heavy and I’m wondering what it sells for or how do I get it to you to look at?
Thanks
Hello,
I have a 32 piece Americana golden Heritage Celine Romanesque at NY co.1968 not sure how much I should sell?
I own a pair of gold plated table chanderlier lamps that used to belong to my aunt, she purchased the pair for $6000.00 dollars. Would the metal have any value?
So, after reading thru all the comments above I’m figuring my set probably isn’t worth much. The back of each piece of silverware is stamped E.P.S.S. Japan. So, is that likely Electroplated Sterling Silver over some other metal? It’s from 1984… Thanks
Hello!
I have a 6 piece set of Gold silverware. It is an American Heritage set, and I’m just looking to sell it. Any ideas where I could go, or maybe the value?
Thank you!
Mattie S. PA
Just curious about selling a passed down (keepsake) times are hard.
I have a 50 pc. gold set of dinnerware with only the word “chine” stamped on it. Any idea what I have?
I found a bag full of (?) gold plated flatware. The style is like nothing I searched, the set has a baby spoon, tea spoon, soup spoon, three different forks, and two knives, one is a small butter knife the other is larger and the knife is curved. There are no markings . Did they ever gold plate over brass? how di I find out what they are under the gold? none have shown any corrosion or damage to the finish. they will not stick to a magnet.
Hi. I have a set of what I assume it gold plated sterling silver flatware. Markings on the items say G AMAYA V .925 Mexico from what I can tell with my bare eyes. Would you have any information on such a set?
have a gold plated flatware set. approx 35yrs old. new condition. in a storage chest hasnt been used for over 15yrs. Supreme Cutlery Destiny pattern (contemporary ) service for 8 consists of knives, both type of forks, both types of spoons, and serving pieces. what might it be worth???? thnaks for your help
I have gold plated pitcher. And here is the mark indicated at the bottom of it “1471j india”. How much is the value? Thanks.
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