What Is My Silver Worth The Value Of Scrap Silver

With the price of silver rising steadily over the last year or so we have received many more inquiries from client’s asking the question; ‘What is my silver worth?’ The purpose of this page is to explain the different types of silver and there value. Below you will see links to direct examples of items we have purchased and what clients have been paid for them, this should give you a good idea on what you can expect to receive for your items. Now let’s examine the different types of silver people have and are currently looking to sell.

Selling Scrap Silver

So what is the value of scrap silver? When most people are thinking of selling their silver they don’t necessarily think of it as scrap but essentially most items such as used or broken sterling silver jewelry, incomplete sets of sterling silverware. The fact is silver is used in a wide variety of applications from industrial electrical silver contacts which can contain up to 90% actual silver content to films used in xrays from doctors and dentists offices which contain enough silver to make them worthwhile refining. The value of your scrap silver is essentially what a company or firm is willing to pay for it, the value will be based on the silver bullion price of the day, a company such as ourselves will pay a percentage of the silver spot price based on refining costs and profit margins. you can find our current scrap silver prices here.

How Much Are My Silver Coins Worth

What are my silver coins worth? Another question that is becoming more frequent these days, both Canada and the United States circulation coinage used to use a high percentage of silver in the minting of their coins. I will try to break it down clearly in the following chart:

Percentage Of Silver Used In Canadian Coins

1. Starting from the beginning, from 1908 to 1921 all nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollar or 50 cent pieces and dollar coins contained 92.5% actual silver content.

2. This changed in 1922, and from 1922 to 1966 all dimes, quarters, half dollar or 50 cent pieces and dollar coins contained 80% actual silver content. *Note that nickels no longer contained any silver after 1921.*

3. In 1967 the actual silver content changed again to 50% actual silver content in dimes, quarters, half dollar or 50 cent pieces and dollar coins.

4. In 1968 some dimes, quarters, half dollar or 50 cent pieces and dollar coins still contained 50% actual silver content but approximately half way through the year they stopped using silver altogether and switched to 99.9% nickel composition. * Note: The easier way to tell if your 1968 coins contain silver is to use a magnet, if the coin is attracted to the magnet it is composed of the metal nickel and does not contain silver, if it is not attracted to the magnet it contains 50% actual silver content.*

Silver In United States Coinage

Basically the United states minted their dimes, quarters, half dollar/50 cent pieces and dollar coins with 90% actual silver content from 1892 to 1964. From 1965 to 1970 the only coin to contain silver is the Kennedy half dollar which contained 40% actual silver content.

What Is My Sterling Silver Jewelry Worth

It’s funny to see fashion trends come and go in jewelry, these days from my experience it seems that more and more younger people are drawn to buying sterling silver jewelry and the older generation is anxious to sell sterling silver jewelry. Sterling silver by it’s very definition is supposed to be composed of 92.5% silver content but I can guarantee you the the majority of supposed sterling silver jewelry is actually closer to 90% actual silver content, many manufacturers and makers cheap a bit to save some money.

Most sterling silver jewelry is made up of 90-92.5% silver and the remainder is mostly copper and possibly some zinc depending on the maker. When selling your scrap or unwanted silver jewelry you can expect to be paid by the gram, again consult our price list for what is my silver worth / current payment prices.

Sterling Silver Flatware Values

Selling sterling silver flatware is starting to make up a higher and higher percentage of our business these days due to the rising price of the silver market. The more client I meet with the more I hear similar thoughts, it seems that it was a fairly common traditional for the 60 plus generation to receive sets of sterling silverware as gifts throughout the years. The children of this generation don’t seem to have any interest in inheriting or taking care of the silverware mainly due to the amount of cleaning involved.

As a results many people both young and old are choosing to sell their sterling silverware and use the money for other pursuits. Again speaking from experience I have found that most sterling silverware is 90% actual silver as opposed to 92.5%, the exception to this is Birks sterling silverware, I have found that Birks has been quite consistent in producing a product with the proper 92.5 % silver content.

Again the price you could expect you fetch from a set of sterling silverware greatly depends on it’s weight, over the past week I’ve paid over $900.00 for an 8 place setting and over $1600.00 for a 12 place setting. Previously we’ve paid as much as $3200.00 for a set.

Below you will find links to actuals items we have purchased with their details, statistics and purchase prices to give you a better idea on what you can expect to receive for your items. If you have any questions or would like an evaluation use the form below or use our contact form.