To sell sterling silver well, you need to know how much of what you own is actually sterling, and how much of that is silver rather than steel, filler or plate. Flatware, tea sets, trays, bowls and candlesticks are the silver most families have, and they are also the silver most often misjudged, in both directions. This page shows you how to read it the way a buyer will.
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 makes silver sterling
In the United States the FTC’s jewelry guides allow the words ‘Sterling’, ‘Sterling Silver’, ‘Ster.’ and ‘Solid silver’, and the number ‘925’, only on an item that is at least 925 parts per 1,000 pure silver: 92.5% silver. 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.
Silver plate is a different thing: a thin layer of silver over a base metal. The same law says plated pieces must not be stamped ‘sterling’ or ‘coin’. So the mark is the first thing to find on every piece. If you are not sure what a mark means, the guide to sterling silver hallmarks has a full reading list, and is silver plated worth anything explains plate.
Where to find the mark
- Forks and spoons: on the back of the handle, usually near the top or near the bowl.
- Knives: on the handle, often on the edge or near where the blade joins. Many sterling knives have steel blades.
- Tea and coffee sets, bowls, trays: underneath, on the base or the rim of the foot.
- Candlesticks and candelabra: on the base, often on its edge.
- Serving pieces: on the back of the handle, like flatware.
Next to the sterling mark there is often a maker’s mark or name and sometimes a pattern name or number. Marks you may see on American sterling include Gorham, Towle, Wallace, Reed & Barton and Tiffany & Co.; they are the makers’ own names, and this site has no connection with any of them. A maker’s name tells you who made the piece; it is the sterling mark that tells you it is sterling, because a maker’s name alone does not say what the metal is.
Weighted and hollow pieces: why they weigh more than their silver
This is where home estimates often go wrong. Several kinds of sterling piece are built around something that is not silver, so their total weight overstates the silver in them:
- Knives with hollow handles: many sterling knives have a hollow sterling handle fixed to a steel blade. Only the handle’s shell is sterling.
- Weighted candlesticks and candelabra: some are stamped ‘Sterling Weighted’, which means a sterling outer shell filled with a heavy material that is not metal, such as rosin or plaster in the base.
- Serving pieces with steel or stainless parts: cake servers, cheese knives and carving sets may combine a sterling handle with a steel working end.
- Brushes, mirrors and dresser sets: where the sterling is only a back or a mount, the bristles, glass and anything under the silver are not silver.
Ask any buyer how they count the silver in these pieces. When you weigh your own silver at home, set them aside and count only solid pieces (forks, spoons, solid serving spoons, and bowls, trays and tea service pieces with no filled base) for your first rough figure.
Weigh your sterling and work out its silver
Weigh the solid pieces in grams and divide by 31.10348 to get troy ounces, the unit silver is priced in (a kitchen ounce is lighter, 28.34952 grams). Multiply by 0.925 to get the pure silver. Multiply that by the day’s spot price for the melt value.
A worked example
A set of sterling forks and spoons weighing 1,555 grams is about 50 troy ounces. At 0.925 fine that is about 46.25 troy ounces of pure silver. If spot is X dollars per troy ounce, the melt value is about 46.25 times X dollars.
Melt value is the value of the pure metal only. A buyer’s offer is usually below melt because the buyer pays to refine the metal and needs a margin. The silver melt value guide works through other examples, including pennyweights and mixed lots.
Selling a set versus selling by weight
Most sterling flatware is bought for its silver. Some is worth more as flatware: a complete service in a pattern people collect, in good condition, with all its pieces. If you have a full set, ask whether a buyer prices it as a set or by weight, and consider asking an estate or antique dealer as well as a precious metal buyer. The silver buyers page compares them.
Odd pieces, monogrammed pieces and mixed patterns usually sell by weight. That is not a bad outcome: sterling holds a known share of silver whatever its pattern or monogram. A price you saw in a store or an insurance appraisal is not a guide to an offer. A retail price includes the store’s costs and margin, and an insurance appraisal states what it would cost to replace the piece, not what a buyer will pay.
Selling sterling silver hollowware
Hollowware means the vessels: teapots, coffee pots, sugar bowls, creamers, pitchers, bowls, trays and goblets. Large solid pieces can hold a great deal of silver, which makes them worth the trouble of identifying properly. Check each piece of a tea service separately: a set may mix sterling and plated pieces, and the tray is often the largest piece. Many teapots and coffee pots have insulators set into the handle, made of ivory or another material that is not silver; the Victoria and Albert Museum, for example, lists a London teapot of 1817 to 1818 as ‘silver with ivory insulators’. Those parts add weight but no silver.
For more on tea services, trays and candlesticks, read selling a silver tea set.
Sterling silver jewelry
Sterling jewelry is marked the same way, usually ‘925’ or ‘Sterling’ inside a ring band, on a chain’s clasp or on a tag near it. Plain sterling jewelry sells by weight like flatware, but it is light, so a drawer of chains may hold less silver than one serving spoon. Signed pieces by known houses can be worth more as jewelry. Broken and mixed jewelry is covered on where to sell scrap silver.
Sterling pieces people often overlook
When a house is cleared, the flatware and the tea service are easy to spot. Smaller sterling is easy to miss, and it adds up. Check drawers, dressers and display cabinets for:
- Baby cups, rattles and christening spoons.
- Napkin rings, salt cellars, pepper shakers and small dishes.
- Picture frames with a sterling front (the back is usually wood or card).
- Thimbles, compacts, pill boxes, cigarette cases and money clips.
- Cocktail shakers, flasks, jiggers and stirrers.
- Trophies and presentation cups, which may be sterling or plate: check the mark.
- Letter openers, bookmarks and desk sets.
Each of these is marked the same way as flatware. Put marked sterling with the rest of your sterling, and anything unmarked with the pieces to ask about.
A checklist for a lot of sterling flatware
- Lay everything out and check every piece for a sterling mark. Put plate and unmarked pieces aside.
- Separate knives, weighted pieces and anything with steel parts from the solid sterling.
- Count the pieces by type (dinner forks, salad forks, teaspoons and so on) and note the pattern and maker if marked.
- Weigh the solid sterling in grams and work out troy ounces and melt value.
- Photograph the marks and one place setting in good light. A buyer may ask for photos.
- Leave the pieces as they are: do not polish hard, remove monograms or take knives apart.
- Ask for a written offer that shows the weight counted as sterling and how weighted pieces were treated.
Where to sell sterling silver
Sterling silver buyers include precious metal buyers, refiners for large quantities, jewelers who buy secondhand, and estate and antique dealers for complete sets and fine hollowware. In New York City, any business that buys used goods needs a DCWP Secondhand Dealer General license and must weigh precious metal on an approved scale and tell you the troy weight. You will show official ID and sign; the buyer records the sale and cannot resell used items within 15 days. More on the city is on sell silver NYC, and the whole process for any kind of silver is on sell silver.
Have a box of sterling to sell? Call or describe it in the form, with the marks you can see.
Questions people ask
Is sterling silver worth anything to sell?
Yes. Sterling is at least 92.5% silver, so its worth as metal is its silver weight x 0.925 x the spot price. Allow for steel blades and weighted bases, which add weight but not silver.
How do I know if my silverware is sterling?
Look for ‘Sterling’, ‘Ster.’ or ‘925’ on the back of the handle. A maker’s name on its own is not enough, because it does not say what the metal is.
Are sterling knives worth less than forks and spoons?
Usually, as metal. Many sterling knives have a hollow sterling handle on a steel blade, so only the handle’s shell is silver.
Should I remove monograms before selling?
No. Removing a monogram means cutting away silver and can damage the piece. Monogrammed sterling sells by weight like any other.
What is the best way to sell sterling silver?
Sort and weigh it, know your melt value, and ask more than one buyer for a written offer that shows the weight counted as sterling. Ask an estate dealer as well if you have a complete set.
Can I sell sterling silver flatware with missing pieces?
Yes. Incomplete sets and odd pieces sell by weight like any sterling. A complete set may interest an estate or antique dealer more, but missing pieces do not stop a sale.
Do I need the original box or chest?
No. A silver chest or box is not silver, and flatware sells without it. If the chest is in good condition, mention it: an estate dealer selling a set may want it.
Describe your silver