How much is your Silver worth

A lot of people will inherit antiques and old furniture from family and loved ones when they pass away. We often do not have a lot of room for other people’s possessions in our home, so one alternative is to sell these unwanted items. You can get some excellent advice on the value of old things on the Forbes website, and below you can read more about valuing your silver that you want to sell. Knowing the value of silver antiques is also helpful when you’re purchasing such antique pieces online or from your local antique dealer. The price of an item will not only be dictated by the current market price of silver, but also of the rarity of the object itself, and there are a few considerations that you need to consider.

Silver Plated Objects

If you have any silver that you want to know the value of, the first thing that you will need to do is find out if it is silver plated or not. Silver plating is when a base metal is used which is of a lower value, and then a layer of silver is added creating the illusion that the object is solid silver. You can often tell by picking up an item if it is solid silver or not, as silver-plated objects are usually lighter than solid silver ones. If you are in any doubt, you will be able to take the object to a local jeweller or pawn shop, and they will be able to confirm whether it is silver plated or not.

Sterling Silver

If you have sterling silver items, then these will be solid silver and should also have a hallmark confirming as such. Solid silver pieces will usually either be pure silver or made up of 0.925 parts silver, with 0.075 parts copper. You may see any of the following marks on the silver to confirm its purity;

• Sterling
• 925/1000
• 0.925

If you have solid silver objects such as antique silver, then the value is going to be a lot more than if the item was plated.

The Current Price Of Silver

The next thing that you will need to do is to work out the weight of the silver you have and look at the current prices of silver. You can get the latest market prices on the Bloomberg website, which is regularly updated as the market price changes. When you know the weight of the silver and the current price, you will be able to work out a rough value.

Additional Factors To Consider

There are other factors that you need to consider when trying to value silver. If you are going to sell your silver to someone like a precious metal dealer or a pawn shop, they will often charge you a smelting fee to melt the silver down and recycle it. Another consideration is the aesthetic value of the piece, as you could have silver jewellery that is worth more than the scrap value as it is rare, exquisite, or just beautiful. You could find that someone is willing to pay a little more for the item as they have fallen in love with it. As such, if you do look to sell your silver, you may wish to try selling it privately to a collector before using the services of a pawn shop, depending on how quickly you need the cash.

 

Note: This is a collaborative post