# sterling flatware = junk silver??



## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I bought 10 sterling silver teaspoons at an estate sale this morning...$30 for the set, or $3 apiece. They are maked sterling. I bought them because I liked them, and had a silver value/barter idea in the back of my head when I was buying them. I dont know what they weigh (I plan to find out as soon as I can), but they feel about the same weight as my stainless steel flatware teaspoons. I thought for the price, it was a good deal. Is sterling flatware traded like junk silver?? Is it worth less (by weight).
Thanks for any info..


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

It's difficult to really do trading in flatware cause each company and each design has a different amount of the silver in it whereas a silver dime IS a silver dime with a standardized amount of silver in it. The ONLY standard for sterling flatware is it must be made of 00 fine silver, but no standard as to how much of that silver is in each design or piece. It's usually bought for the melt value which may or may not be equal to junk silver coins.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Sterling is 92.5% pure (higher than coins) the rest is usually copper....


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

Found this at http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2006/04/09/melt-value/
_
Or how about 200 grams of sterling silver forks? Say the spot price of silver is $12/ounce. Then the melt value of the silverware is $12 x (200 g / 31.104 g) x 0.925 = $71.37. (Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper with a little other stuff.)_


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

as previous posters have told you "junk" silver is usually coins that are 900/1000 pure silver whereas your flatware stamped sterling is 925/1000 silver. Sounds to me like you got a good deal, congrats!

If you get into buying flatware be very careful of knives of all types. Most have stainless blades and can have hollow handles filled with resin. This means that there is less precious metal to make value. Regardless of maker name you want to see the word sterling, ster, or 925 for solid sterling content. Some flatware is made in 900 and even 800 fine silver(usually made overseas).
Good deals are such fun! bee


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Spot price this week end (11-20-10) is $21.30 per ounce. 

Now if you have "sterling" ,you need to weigh them. If you have a gram scale 31.1 grams= 1 troy ounce (X spot price). Sounds like you did well. I would keep them and use them, knowing that I had some value put back if needed.:thumb:


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## Explorer (Dec 2, 2003)

edcopp said:


> Spot price this week end (11-20-10) is $21.30 per ounce.
> 
> Now if you have "sterling" ,you need to weigh them. If you have a gram scale 31.1 grams= 1 troy ounce (X spot price). Sounds like you did well. I would keep them and use them, knowing that I had some value put back if needed.:thumb:


Don't you mean $27.30 per ounce.


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## NamasteMama (Jul 24, 2009)

One troy ounce is how they measure silver. edcopp is saying that you would multiply your troy ounces by spot price to get the value. 31.1 grams= 1 troy ounce, times spot which is currently 27.35 would be what the value for melt should be.edcopp just wrote it out as a mathematical equation.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

edcopp said:


> Spot price this week end (11-20-10) is $21.30 per ounce.
> 
> Now if you have "sterling" ,you need to weigh them. If you have a gram scale 31.1 grams= 1 troy ounce (X spot price). Sounds like you did well. I would keep them and use them, knowing that I had some value put back if needed.:thumb:


Thanks all...
thats exactly why I picked them up...Figured I can serve with fancy tea for me and enjoy them, and have an extra insurance policy. I think I found something new to collect that does not take up much room!!
The estate sale did have a carving set (knife, fork) marked sterling on the handle, but they were priced out of my range, and I realized only the handles were sterling.


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## Wisconsin Ann (Feb 27, 2007)

If you're doing estate sales for silver, look around for cigarette holders and lighters. They were, during the 60s and earlier, very often made from sterling silver. Theyll be marked sterling or "925" if they are sterling. Since a lot of the sales today are from folks that are in their 70s or 80s, they could well have those items. The large tea and coffee sets were usually plated by then, but the small items..bowls, lighters, candlesticks, etc... would be sterling. 

As mentioned tho..if something is weighted on the bottom, like a candlestick, there's a high possibility of the bottom being filled with cement, a common way to weight down light items.


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## bee (May 12, 2002)

whole list of stuff that could be sterling from letter openers to baby cups. Napkin rings,teething rings,baby rattles, candle snuffers..look for what looks to be "dirty metal" in other words..tarnished. THEN look for the stamp..silverplated tarnishes too.


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCV_xpwDnEo[/ame] Here is one of my favorite subscriptions. Lots of great homesteading advice. Here is his video on scrap silver.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

Explorer said:


> Don't you mean $27.30 per ounce.


No. I meant for sterling not .999 silver.


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

I deal in buying and selling scrap sometimes, though with the higher price of gold and silver and the big television ads and the mail campaigns from the rip off artists disguised as reputable dealers i have not bought much lately.

If you want to figure out what you can get from a refiner, Kitco has an excellent scrap price listed for reference as to what they will pay for *delivered* and separated metals. you have to pay postage, and insurance, and most folks buying at estate sales for the first time dont understand that yes while the price is higher, and likely to go up, to get a decent price per ounce those who deal in scrap often hold it for weeks before they accumulate enough to make the next jump up in weight to get a better price.... and then interest on money paid out also needs to be worke3d into the equation.

traditionally i have bought on a 30 day average at a set percentage and used a sliding scale depending upon the amount of weight being offered to me for purchase. I also have other places that buy from me when i purchase rings and such with nice stones, but again i have to have several ounces of gold and many ounces of silver to make it worthwhile to ship to them...... 

spot at the time of this posting for .925 silver or sterling was 0.71 cents per gram at kitco if you have under 1000 troy ounces which is about $22.08 per ounce, you pay shipping and insurance....... if I was buying to then resell to a refiner, my offer would be a whole lot less...... it is a rough lesson some folks dont think about if they have no intention of using that which they bought or buy it at a higher price as an investment..... 

The OP presents a good question and as the intention s to use those spoons, they have value other than just precious metal! In all though it pays to be diligent in your research, if you intend to make a living buying and selling scrap of any type, and learn the business inside out before jumping in and making a costly mistake that could take months to recover your loss from! 

AS a hobby refiner myself i can use either coin silver or sterling in refining my gold purchases that are less than pure and if i am lucky my purchases will cover my costs of acid and interest for that recovery....... besides being kind of fun, its a skill set few people have, but is actually easy to learn.

William
Idaho


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