Answers
Frequently asked questions about selling silver
Straight, jargon-free answers about selling silver: what we actually do, what it typically costs, how the process works from the first call to the finished job, and the communities we serve. If your question is not here, ask us on the contact page and a real local person will get right back to you, usually the same day.
How do I know if my silver is real?
Three checks settle most of it at a kitchen table. Look for a mark: sterling is usually stamped 925, STERLING, or in British silver a set of small hallmarks. Try a magnet: silver is not magnetic, so anything that jumps to a magnet is not solid silver, though a non-magnetic result on its own proves nothing. Then look at wear points, because silver plate wears through on edges and handles to show a different metal underneath, often a warmer or grayer color. Marks like EPNS, A1, or silver on copper mean plated. If those three agree, you have your answer without paying anyone.
What is sterling silver?
Sterling is an alloy that is 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent other metal, almost always copper. Pure silver is too soft for objects that get handled, so the copper is there for strength rather than to dilute anyone. That 92.5 figure is the number you multiply by when working out melt value, and it is why sterling is stamped 925. Coin silver, an older American standard, is 90 percent and is often marked COIN or not marked at all. Continental European silver runs to different standards, commonly 800 or 835, and those numbers appear on the piece.
Is silver plate worth anything?
For melt purposes, effectively nothing. Plate is a microscopically thin layer of silver over a base metal, and recovering it costs more than the silver is worth, which is why refiners decline it and why a buyer offering you scrap rates for plate is not being generous. That said, plate is not worthless in every sense. Good makers, complete sets in original condition, and decorative pieces can carry real secondhand value as objects rather than as metal. The mistake is sending plate to a metal buyer and concluding it was a scam when the offer comes back at nothing.
How do I calculate melt value?
Weight, purity, spot price, in that order. Weigh the piece in troy ounces, remembering that one troy ounce is 31.1 grams and that ordinary ounces are a different unit. Multiply by the purity as a decimal: 0.925 for sterling, 0.90 for pre-1965 United States coins. Multiply that by the current spot price per troy ounce, which is public and moves all day. The result is the melt value, the theoretical maximum before anybody's margin. Weigh knives separately: their handles are usually weighted with pitch or cement, so the scale badly overstates their silver content.
What percentage of melt value should I expect?
It depends entirely on who you sell to, and the spread is much wider than most sellers expect. Pawn shops commonly land somewhere around half of melt. Local coin dealers frequently pay in the seventies. Established mail-in buyers and refiners often pay in the eighties for a clean, sorted, reasonably sized lot. Those differences are not one honest buyer and two crooks; they reflect volume, speed, and who carries the risk while the market moves. The number that matters is your own: work out melt first, then convert every quote into a percentage of it, and the comparison becomes obvious.
Why do two buyers quote such different prices?
Four things drive nearly all of it. Volume: a refiner processing large quantities can work on a thinner margin than a shop that sees silver occasionally. Speed: cash in your hand today is a product, and you pay for it in the price. Sorting: if a buyer has to separate collectible pieces from scrap, that is skilled labor and it comes out of your offer. Risk: a quote given before the parcel arrives has to cover several days of market movement, and on a volatile week that cushion gets noticeably wider. None of that is hidden malice; it is the shape of the trade.
Should I sell now or wait?
If you are not under time pressure, the market's volatility matters more than its level. When silver is swinging hard, every buyer widens the gap between what they pay and what they can sell for, because they are covering the days your metal spends in transit. Selling into a calm stretch is worth real money and costs you nothing but patience. What I would not do is wait for a price target, because nobody knows where the price goes and holding out for a number is how people end up selling in a panic later. This is not investment advice, and if the money is needed now, that settles it.
Is it safe to post silver to a buyer?
It is routine, and tens of thousands of parcels arrive safely every year, but it is worth doing properly. Photograph the lot before it goes and write down the weights. Insure the shipment for its melt value rather than a nominal figure. Use a service with tracking and a signature on delivery. Pack so nothing shifts or announces itself: plain outer packaging, nothing on the label describing the contents. Confirm before sending who pays return shipping if you decline the offer, and get that in writing. A buyer who will not answer that question in writing is telling you something useful.
What happens if I decline an offer?
With a reputable buyer, your property comes back to you at their cost, promptly and in the condition it arrived. That is the standard you should hold anyone to, and it is worth confirming in writing before you ship rather than after. Buyers who charge sellers to return declined goods have converted a bad offer into a trap: refusing now costs you money, which is precisely the pressure that makes people accept numbers they would otherwise reject. That practice is enough on its own to keep a firm off this site, regardless of what they pay.
Do I need identification to sell silver?
Usually yes, and it is a good sign rather than a bad one. Most jurisdictions require precious metals dealers to record the seller's identity and often to hold purchased goods for a set period, both of which exist to make selling stolen property harder. Expect to show government identification and expect a record to be kept. A buyer who is happy to take a large quantity of silver with no identification and no paperwork is operating outside the rules that protect everyone, and that should make you more cautious rather than less.
Should I clean silver before selling it?
No, and this is the most common piece of well-meant advice that costs people money. For scrap, cleaning changes nothing: the buyer is paying for metal content, and tarnish weighs nothing. For anything collectible, cleaning can do permanent damage, because polishing removes a thin layer of the surface every time and destroys the patina that a collector values. A cleaned coin in particular is worth a fraction of the same coin left alone. If a piece might be more than scrap, leave it exactly as it is and let someone who buys collectibles see it that way.
When is a piece worth more than its melt value?
More often than people expect. A recognized maker, a complete service in its original canteen, an unusual form, or a piece with genuine age and good marks can all carry value as an object well beyond its weight. Coins are the sharpest case: a scarce date, a scarce mint mark, or genuine uncirculated condition can be worth several multiples of melt, and melting it destroys that permanently. The practical rule is that anything unusual, anything marked in a way you cannot immediately identify, and anything that looks barely used deserves a second opinion from someone who buys collectibles before it goes anywhere near a refiner.
What is junk silver?
A trade term, and a misleading one, for ordinary circulated United States coins that contain silver but carry no collectible premium. In practice that means dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier, which are 90 percent silver, plus half dollars from 1965 to 1970 at 40 percent. Junk here means common rather than worthless: these coins are bought and sold purely on their silver content, at a percentage of melt, and they are among the easiest things to value because the purity is standard and public. Nothing about the word implies they are not worth selling.
Are silver dollars worth more than melt?
Frequently, yes, and this is a category where sending them for scrap is a real risk. Morgan and Peace dollars are 90 percent silver, so they have a solid melt value, but many dates and mint marks carry a collector premium above it, and coins in strong condition can be worth many multiples. Common dates in worn condition may trade close to melt, but even then a coin dealer will usually beat a refiner. Do not send silver dollars to a metal buyer without having someone who buys coins look at them first. Once they are melted the question cannot be reopened.
Do I pay tax when I sell silver?
Possibly, and it depends on where you live, what the metal cost you or what it was worth when you inherited it, and how much you sold. In the United States precious metals sales can be reportable and any gain may be taxable, and certain transactions carry dealer reporting requirements. Inherited property is usually treated on a different basis from something you bought, which often works in the seller's favor. This site cannot advise you on any of it. For a sale of any size, and for anything inherited, ask an accountant before you sell rather than after.
How many quotes should I get?
Three, from different kinds of buyer rather than three of the same kind. A pawn shop, a local coin dealer, and an established mail-in buyer will give you a genuine spread, and three quotes from three pawn shops will not. Convert each into a percentage of your melt value and the differences stop being mysterious. Getting quotes is free and costs an afternoon, and on a lot of any size that afternoon is the best-paid work in the entire process. If a buyer pressures you not to compare, that pressure is itself the answer.
Can I sell silver myself on an auction site?
You can, and for collectible pieces it sometimes beats every dealer, because you reach the people who want that specific object rather than someone buying it for metal. It is not free, though, and the costs are easy to underestimate: listing and final value fees, payment processing, shipping insured and tracked, the time to photograph and describe honestly, and the real risk of a fraudulent chargeback on a high-value item shipped to a stranger. For ordinary scrap it is rarely worth the effort. For a marked piece by a known maker, or a coin with a genuine premium, it is worth considering seriously.
More about how we work
We built this page from the questions people ask us most, and we try to answer each one the way we would in person: plainly, honestly, and without a sales pitch. You do not need to read it top to bottom. Skim for the question closest to your situation, and if the exact case is not covered, that usually just means it is worth a short conversation rather than a canned answer. Every project is a little different, and the specifics that matter almost always come out once we understand your home, your timeline, and what you care about most.
The questions below tend to fall into a few groups: what we do and how it works, what things cost and why, what to expect at each step, and how we serve the different communities. Wherever you are in the process, whether you are just starting to look into it, quietly comparing a few options, or ready to move forward, there is no wrong question and no pressure. Reaching out costs nothing and commits you to nothing, and we would genuinely rather answer a question now than have you guess.
A few things are worth saying up front, because they come up again and again. We are a real local business, not a call center or a lead broker, so when you reach out you get a person who actually does this work and knows the area, not a script. We will never pressure you, and we will tell you honestly when something is not the right fit or not worth the money, because a customer who understands their options makes a better decision, and that is good for everyone. Pricing depends on the specifics of your situation, so rather than quote a number that turns out to be wrong, we look at the actual job and give you a clear, written figure with no obligation. And if your question is time-sensitive, say so; we will do our best to move quickly and be straight with you about what is realistic. The answers below are a starting point, but the honest, specific version of any of them is a short conversation away.
Still have a question we did not cover? That is exactly what a short conversation is for. You can head to the next step whenever you are ready, with no pressure and no obligation.