Silver melt value: how to work it out for any piece

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The silver melt value formula

• Weight in troy ounces: precious metal is weighed in troy ounces of 31.10348 grams (NIST). To convert grams, divide by 31.10348.
• Fineness: the share of the weight that is silver, from the mark: 0.925 for sterling, 0.900 for coin silver, 0.999 for fine silver.
• Spot price: the market price of one troy ounce of pure silver on the day. It changes daily, which is why no price is printed on this site. Look it up the day you sell.

Converting the units

From	To troy ounces	Note
Grams	Divide by 31.10348	The unit most kitchen scales show
Pennyweights (dwt)	Divide by 20	1 dwt = 1.555174 grams
Kitchen ounces	Multiply by about 0.911	A kitchen ounce is 28.34952 grams
Kilograms	Multiply by about 32.15	1,000 grams divided by 31.10348

The kitchen ounce catches people out. A troy ounce is heavier, so the same silver is fewer troy ounces than kitchen ounces: 16 kitchen ounces is about 14.58 troy ounces.

Worked example: sterling flatware

You have a sterling flatware set. Setting aside the knives (steel blades, filled handles), the forks and spoons weigh 1,244 grams.

1. 1,244 grams divided by 31.10348 is about 40 troy ounces.
2. Sterling is 0.925 fine: 40 x 0.925 = 37 troy ounces of pure silver.
3. At a spot price of X dollars per troy ounce, the melt value is 37 times X dollars.

Worked example: a bar and some rounds

A 10-ounce bar and five 1-ounce rounds, all stamped .999, weigh 15 troy ounces in total. 15 x 0.999 = 14.985 troy ounces of silver, so the melt value is about 14.99 times X dollars. Bullion is the simplest case because the weight and fineness are stamped on it. See where to sell silver bars.

Worked example: US silver coins

The Coinage Act of 1965 changed US coins. Under it, dimes and quarters became clad coins of copper and nickel with no silver; before the change, dimes, quarters and half dollars were minted from 900 fine coin silver, so they are 90% silver. The new half dollar made under the Act weighs 11.5 grams and contains 4.6 grams of silver, which is 40%.

• A 90% silver coin: its silver content is its weight x 0.900. Weigh your coins in grams, multiply by 0.900, divide by 31.10348 for troy ounces of silver.
• A 1965 Act half dollar: 4.6 grams of silver, about 0.148 troy ounce. Its melt value is about 0.148 times X dollars.
• An American Silver Eagle: 31.103 grams of .999 fine silver by law, about one troy ounce of silver. Its melt value is about X dollars.

Coins are where melt value is most often the wrong number. A coin a collector wants, because of its date, mint mark or condition, can be worth well above its silver. Do not clean old coins, and ask a coin dealer about any coin in unusually fine condition before selling it by weight.

Worked example: mixed scrap

A box of broken sterling jewelry weighs 155.5 grams, about 5 troy ounces. At 0.925 that is about 4.62 troy ounces of silver: a melt value of about 4.62 times X dollars. If the box also holds a 900 piece weighing 31.1 grams, that adds 1 x 0.900 = 0.9 troy ounce of silver. Work out each group separately. See where to sell scrap silver.

Weighing at home without fooling yourself

Your melt figure is only as good as your weight. A digital kitchen scale that reads in grams is fine for a first estimate; set it to grams rather than ounces, so you are not caught by the kitchen ounce. Weigh in a small bowl and subtract the bowl. Weigh each group separately rather than everything at once. Leave out anything you know is not silver: steel knife blades, weighted candlestick bases, wooden handles, stones, cords and cases.

Expect a buyer’s scale to read a little differently from yours. In New York City a buyer must use 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. If the difference is large, ask to see the reading.

How much is silver worth to a buyer?

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. How far below depends on the buyer, on what you are selling and on how much: bullion that can be resold as it is tends to be priced differently from scrap that has to be refined. That is general reasoning, not a rule, and no fixed share of melt applies to every sale.

What melt value gives you is a yardstick. Ask any buyer which spot price their offer uses and what weight and fineness it counts, and you can see how close each offer comes to the metal it is paying for. With two or three offers on the same basis, the comparison is simple.

When melt value is not the whole story

• Collectible coins may be worth more than their silver.
• Signed designer pieces may be worth more as jewelry or design.
• Complete flatware sets in wanted patterns may be worth more as sets.
• Silver plate is worth far less than its weight suggests, because the silver is only a thin surface layer. See is silver plated worth anything.
• Weighted and steel-bladed pieces hold less silver than they weigh.

Melt value step by step

1. Sort by mark: 925, 900, .999, unmarked, plated.
2. Weigh each group in grams, leaving out steel, filler and stones where you can.
3. Divide by 31.10348 for troy ounces.
4. Multiply by the fineness for troy ounces of pure silver.
5. Multiply by the day’s spot price.
6. Add the groups together for the melt value of the lot.

For how to use the figure when selling, read sell silver.

Questions people ask