How to tell if silver is real is a fair question to ask before you try to sell it, and the honest answer is that you can usually tell a lot at home, but not everything. A mark is the strongest evidence you can find yourself. A few simple checks help sort the rest. A buyer’s test settles what is left. Here is what each can and cannot tell you.
Where Can I Sell Silver is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send the form, your details go to an independent buyer in New York who makes any offer.
Look for the mark first
In the United States, the FTC’s jewelry guides set out what the marks on silver mean:
- ‘Sterling’, ‘Sterling Silver’, ‘Ster.’, ‘Solid silver’ or ‘925’: at least 92.5% silver.
- ‘Coin’, ‘coin silver’ or ‘900’: at least 90% silver.
- A number with the word silver, such as ‘750 silver’: silver of that fineness in parts per thousand.
- ‘.999’ on bars and rounds: fine silver. The American Silver Eagle is .999 fine by federal law.
Federal law also says silver plated articles must not be stamped ‘sterling’ or ‘coin’. So a sterling or coin mark is a maker’s claim of solid silver. Plate is often marked differently. A maker’s name on its own tells you who made the piece, not what it is made of. The guide to sterling silver hallmarks shows where marks are usually struck.
Check the worn places
Silver plate is a thin layer over another metal, and on edges, rims, the bottoms of feet and the high points of a pattern, it can wear or be polished through. Look closely at those places in good light. A different-colored metal showing through is a sign of plate: the Canadian Conservation Institute shows a plated copper tray where repeated polishing revealed salmon-red copper. Solid sterling looks the same all the way through, however worn.
Use a magnet, carefully
Silver is not noticeably magnetic. If a strong magnet snaps to a piece, the piece is not solid silver, or has steel in it, such as a knife blade or a clasp spring. If the magnet does not react, that does not prove the piece is silver: in everyday life only a handful of metals, such as iron, nickel and cobalt, stick to a magnet, so copper, brass and most other metals do not react either. Use a magnet to rule out obvious steel, never to confirm silver.
Consider the piece itself
- Parts that are not metal: wooden or ivory handles, insulators and filled bases are found on both sterling and plate, so they say nothing about the metal.
- Joins and seams: look at where parts meet and at worn edges, for the base metal showing through as described above.
- Weight: silver is heavy for its size, but so are many base metals, so weight alone proves little.
- Where it came from: a box, receipt or family record may say what a piece was sold as.
Checks to avoid at home
You will find advice online to scratch a piece, file it, or drop chemicals on it. Do not. These can damage a piece, remove metal and spoil anything a collector might have valued, and they are easy to misread. If marks and simple checks leave you unsure, a buyer can test the metal. Ask how they test before agreeing, and whether the test leaves a mark.
What about coins?
US dimes, quarters and half dollars made for circulation before the 1965 change were 90% silver; half dollars made under the 1965 Act were 40% silver, and dimes and quarters under the Act were clad copper and nickel with no silver. A coin’s date and appearance help sort them, but if you are not sure, ask a coin dealer, who can also tell you if a coin is worth more than its silver.
Gold-colored silver and coated pieces
Color can mislead. Sterling can be coated with gold: the FTC guides (16 CFR 23.4) allow the word ‘vermeil’ for sterling silver coated or plated with gold of at least 10 karat. A gold-colored piece marked 925 is sterling silver, priced as silver. Gold is marked by karat instead, such as 14K, which means 58.3% gold. If a piece carries both a silver mark and a karat mark, or marks you cannot read, write them all down and ask.
Unmarked is not the same as fake
Marks wear away with polishing, and small parts may carry no stamp of their own. An unmarked piece may well be silver; it simply needs testing before a buyer will treat it as such. Keep unmarked pieces in their own group when you sell, and say what you know of their history. Once you know what is real, sell silver explains how to work out what it is worth and judge an offer.
Still not sure whether it is real? Call or send the form with the marks you see, and we connect you with an independent New York buyer who can tell you.
Questions people ask
Does real silver stick to a magnet?
No. Silver is not noticeably magnetic. But copper, brass and most other metals are not either, so a piece that does not stick is not proven to be silver.
Is unmarked silver real?
It can be. Unmarked pieces need testing before a buyer treats them as silver.
Can real silver be gold colored?
Yes. Sterling can be coated with gold (the FTC calls qualifying pieces vermeil). A piece marked 925 is sterling silver whatever its color.
Describe your silver