Scrap silver is any silver that will be sold for its metal rather than used again: a broken chain, a single earring, a bent ring, a dented cup, a box of mixed pieces from a drawer. Knowing where to sell scrap silver starts with knowing that ‘scrap’ says nothing bad about the silver. A broken sterling chain holds exactly as much silver as it did when it was whole. What decides the offer is what the metal is and how much of it there is.
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.
What counts as scrap silver?
- Broken or tangled chains, bracelets and anklets.
- Single earrings, odd cufflinks, rings that no longer fit or are bent.
- Dented or damaged sterling: cups, napkin rings, small bowls, frames.
- Odd flatware pieces from incomplete sets.
- Mixed lots from an estate or a jewelry box, with some pieces marked and some not.
- Offcuts and filings from a jeweler’s or silversmith’s bench.
If a piece is whole, wearable and signed by a known maker, it may not be scrap at all: it may be worth more as jewelry. Keep those apart and ask about them separately.
Why does sorting matter so much?
A mixed lot is hard to price fairly. If sterling, plate, costume jewelry and a little gold are all in one bag, the buyer either spends time sorting it or prices it cautiously. Sorting it yourself, before anyone sees it, gives you a lot that can be weighed and priced group by group, and lets you see what each group is worth.
How do I sort scrap silver at home?
- Find a bright light and a magnifier, or use your phone camera zoomed in.
- Look for marks: ‘925’ or ‘Sterling’ inside ring bands, on clasps and on tags near them; ‘900’ or ‘Coin’ on older pieces; a number before the word silver, such as ‘800’.
- Make a pile for each mark. Pieces marked 925 or Sterling are at least 92.5% silver under the FTC’s jewelry guides; pieces marked 900 or Coin at least 90%.
- Make a pile for unmarked pieces that look like silver. These will need testing.
- Make a pile for anything marked or likely to be plated, and anything that is clearly costume jewelry.
- Put any gold aside: marks such as 10K, 14K or 18K mean 41.7%, 58.3% or 75% gold, and gold is priced separately.
- Remove stones you can see are glass or plastic only if they come away without damage; otherwise leave them.
A common first check at home is a magnet. Silver is not noticeably magnetic, so a piece that snaps to one is not solid silver, or has steel in it, such as a clasp spring. A piece that does not react is not proven to be silver either: in everyday life only a handful of metals, such as iron, nickel and cobalt, stick to a magnet, so copper, brass and most other base metals do not react either. Treat it as a way to pull out obvious steel, not as a test.
How is scrap silver tested?
Marks are the first evidence, but a buyer of scrap may test unmarked pieces and sometimes marked ones. Methods vary from buyer to buyer and from one kind of piece to another; ask any buyer how they test, and whether the test marks or damages the piece. For large lots, a refiner may melt the silver and assay the result, so the figure rests on the tested silver content, but the pieces are gone before the price is final. Ask how that works before you agree to it.
Under the National Stamping Act, a sterling article with no solder may test up to four parts per thousand under its mark, and one with solder up to ten parts under. A piece that tests well below its mark is not what the mark claims.
How much is scrap silver worth?
Weigh each group in grams, divide by 31.10348 for troy ounces, multiply by its fineness (0.925 for sterling, 0.900 for coin silver), then by the day’s spot price. That is the melt value of the group.
| Group | Weight | Troy ounces | Pure silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling chains and rings (925) | 93.3 g | about 3.0 | about 2.78 troy oz |
| Odd sterling flatware (925) | 311 g | about 10.0 | about 9.25 troy oz |
| Coin silver pieces (900) | 62.2 g | about 2.0 | about 1.80 troy oz |
| Unmarked, untested | 40 g | about 1.29 | unknown until tested |
Multiply each pure silver figure by the spot price (X dollars per troy ounce) for its melt value. No price is printed here because spot changes daily. Melt value is the value of the pure metal only. A buyer’s offer on scrap is usually below melt because the buyer pays to refine the metal and needs a margin; the silver melt value guide explains the method in full.
Does scrap silver jewelry with stones sell for less?
Stones and settings are not silver, so they add weight that is not paid for as silver. A buyer may estimate their weight or ask to remove them. If a stone might be valuable, say so: it should be valued on its own rather than lost in a melt. Glass, crystal and plastic stones in costume pieces are not paid for as silver.
Can I sell silver plated scrap?
As metal, plated pieces hold very little silver: plate is a thin layer over a base metal, and federal law says it must not be stamped sterling or coin. Ask before you include plate: as metal it holds so little silver that a scrap buyer may decline it or offer little. Is silver plated worth anything explains the exceptions.
Can I sell tarnished or black silver?
Yes. Tarnish is a thin surface layer, mainly silver sulphide; the silver is underneath. Do not spend time cleaning scrap, since it will be priced on weight and fineness. If a piece is heavily blackened and unmarked, a buyer may need to test it.
Selling silver jewelry that is not broken
Whole sterling jewelry sells in two ways: by weight, like scrap, or as jewelry. Plain chains, bangles and rings with no maker’s name usually sell by weight. Signed pieces from houses such as Tiffany & Co., David Yurman or Georg Jensen may be worth more to a buyer who resells jewelry. Ask a jeweler or a buyer who handles signed pieces before selling them by weight, and keep boxes, pouches and paperwork. The silver buyers page compares jewelers with precious metal buyers.
Is a small amount of scrap silver worth selling?
Sometimes not on its own. A single thin chain may weigh only a few grams, and a buyer has the same work to do on a small lot as on a large one: sort, check, weigh, record. Before you make a trip, weigh what you have and work out the pure silver. If it is small, it can be worth keeping a jar for broken pieces and selling them together, or adding them to a larger sale of flatware or jewelry.
In New York City, every purchase is recorded whatever its size: the buyer notes the items, their marks, your name and address and the date and time, and keeps records with photos of each precious metal item. That is part of why small lots take a buyer time.
Scrap silver buyers: who to ask
- Precious metal buyers take mixed lots and price each group by weight and fineness.
- Refiners suit large quantities, such as a jeweler’s bench scrap or a big estate lot.
- Jewelers may buy scrap, and may value signed pieces as jewelry.
- Coin shops may buy sterling scrap along with coins and bullion; ask.
Whoever you ask, ask for the weight and fineness of each group in writing. Get two offers for anything substantial.
Selling scrap silver in New York City
In New York City, a buyer of precious metal must have a scale approved by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, reading to 0.01 troy ounce or finer, and must tell you the troy weight. The buyer records each purchase, including for jewelry the metal and the stones, and keeps electronic records with digital photos of each precious metal item. You show official ID and sign in front of the buyer. Buyers cannot buy from minors and cannot resell used items, jewelry included, within 15 days of buying them. More on the city is on sell silver NYC; the process for any silver is on sell silver.
Have a box of broken silver or old jewelry? Call or describe it in the form, with the marks you found.
Questions people ask
Is broken silver worth less than whole silver?
Not as metal. A broken sterling chain holds the same silver it did whole. It only loses the extra value a wearable or collectible piece might have had.
What is the best way to sell scrap silver?
Sort it by mark, weigh each group, work out its melt value, and ask for written offers that show the weight and fineness of each group.
Should I sell scrap silver and scrap gold together?
You can sell them to the same buyer, but keep them separate so each is weighed and priced on its own. Gold is priced by karat and weight, not with silver.
Do I need to remove stones from silver jewelry?
Not necessarily. A buyer may estimate their weight or remove them. If a stone could be valuable, mention it so it is valued separately.
Can I sell a single earring?
Yes. Single earrings are classic scrap. Group them with other pieces of the same mark so the weight is worth weighing.
Can I sell silver that is not marked?
Often, yes, once it has been tested. Unmarked pieces take longer and may be priced more cautiously than marked ones, so sort them into their own group.
Describe your silver