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How is sterling silver valued?

By Christopher Martinez |

To determine the value of your piece, take the total ounces of silver and multiply that by the current spot price of silver. You can usually find this value online at financial statistics websites or precious metals dealers. At the time of this writing, the current value of silver is $16.56 per ounce.

How do you determine the value of silverware?

Look for a mark on the silverware of 925, STERLING or 925/1000. The mark is usually found on the underside of the piece of flatware. One of these marks is a surefire way to tell if your flatware is made of sterling silver. Put a magnet on the silverware to see if it is attracted to it.

How to calculate the value of your sterling silver?

To ensure that your piece is made of high-quality sterling silver, check for a hallmark and the number 925. This will indicate that you have a piece of sterling silver that is made up of 92.5 percent silver. If you find a hallmark and a lower number, your piece has a lower proportion of pure silver.

Which is better to sell sterling silver or plated silver?

Plated silver is worth significantly less than sterling, so sterling silver is what you want to try to sell. Silver should have identifiable marks, so to figure out if your silver is sterling or not, check to see what it’s labeled as. If it says “sterling,” “ster,” or “.925,” the silver is sterling.

What makes up 92.5% of sterling silver?

Sterling silver objects are made of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. A silver-plated piece is simply a base metal that is coated with silver; so while something may shine like silver, don ‘t let it fool you. Unfortunately, silver-plated items hold almost no monetary worth.

What’s the value of a silver serving platter?

Often they just made the trays since serving platters were quite popular in the early 20th century. If you are asking for value to sell it, in probably 90% of my dealings with silver items, if it is sterling the value for scrap is typically more than the value for resale.