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Dalsuh
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
757 Posts |
 Posted - 09/14/2009 : 22:55:10
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Anyone know a good guideline in purchasing sterling silverware? For, instance, how much should I pay for a butter knife, salad fork, etc....
The collection I'm looking at is Gorham Sterling but I'm just interested in the silver value.
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HoardCopperByTheTon
Administrator
USA
6807 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2009 : 23:02:29
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I think there are some old threads on this. You want to price it close to what you could scrap it at.. which is back of melt for sterling. With butter knives, you have to make sure the entire knife is actually sterling.. sometimes it is just the handle. Certain patterns bring significant premiums over melt. I think we have a few members here who dabble in the market more than I do.  |
If your percentages are low.. just sort more. If your percentages are high.. just sort more.
Now selling Copper pennies. 1.6x plus shipping. Limited amounts available. |
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Robarons
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
522 Posts |
Posted - 09/14/2009 : 23:08:19
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Gorham is actually is worth quite more than melt, so if you can get a set it could be worth $1000 on the bay.
Regular forks and spoons have about 20-25 grams for the most part. The gorham stuff goes over 30 grams for the most part. Knifes tend to have steel blades.
Be sure to knock off 10-30% spot because sterling goes for a healthy discount to sell or melt. |
Robber Baron= Robarons |
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Dalsuh
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
757 Posts |
Posted - 09/15/2009 : 06:38:36
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| Thanks very much Robarons. |
PACK THE FORUM EVERY MONDAY NIGHT
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n/a
deleted
64 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2009 : 17:14:12
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Do you have a way to weigh a sample of knife, fork and spoon, then do the math? Ditto on the knife blades, it's rare to find a sterling blade in a flatware set.
Just like buying scrap PM, weigh it up, get the value from an on-line calculator like; You must be logged in to see this link. Buy for 30% to 50% but sell as a set to public online, not to the smelter. Remember, the smelter pays the lowest value for any metal.
I personally hold my sterling, using alot of it at the dinner table. It's fun, feels nice, naturally anti-bacterial and looks pretty. The ladies in the family enjoy sifting through the newly purchased scrap jewelry for new, fun to wear items.
Some look down their nose at anything less than .999 for their silver hoard, but remember, in a crisis, sterling is an easily recognizable trade goods with a known purity of at least .925 |
"it is the tradition that a Kentuckian does not retreat, he does not have to" |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2009 : 19:13:04
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the blades of knives are stainless, not steel.
the handles of knives and some larger serving utensils are either hollow or filled with something to make them feel heavy which is not silver.
so you can't go by weight alone.
refiners will give you a little over 80% of spot.
remember, sterling is only 92.5% pure, and you need to convert regular ounces to troy ounces. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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n/a
deleted
478 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2009 : 20:25:30
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quote:
Originally posted by Lemon Thrower
the blades of knives are stainless, not steel.
Stainless is still steel. If sterling silver was used for knife blades, it would be too soft and would wear fast. Anything marked STAINLESS is usually food grade stainless steel which is steel alloyed with chromium, nickel, magnesium etc. Chromium is the the primary alloy. That's why the "sterling" marked knives with "stainless" marked blades are not worth much.
Stainless steel is also less magnetic than carbon steel. This is due to the alloys. Check it with a magnet and see for youself.
Sterling will not attract a magnet at all.
Here is the wiki link that explains what stainless steel is.
You must be logged in to see this link. |
Edited by - n/a on 10/18/2009 20:29:02 |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2009 : 05:03:20
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quote:
Originally posted by CuproNickle
quote:
Originally posted by Lemon Thrower
the blades of knives are stainless, not steel.
Stainless is still steel. If sterling silver was used for knife blades, it would be too soft and would wear fast. Anything marked STAINLESS is usually food grade stainless steel which is steel alloyed with chromium, nickel, magnesium etc. Chromium is the the primary alloy. That's why the "sterling" marked knives with "stainless" marked blades are not worth much.
Stainless steel is also less magnetic than carbon steel. This is due to the alloys. Check it with a magnet and see for youself.
Sterling will not attract a magnet at all.
Here is the wiki link that explains what stainless steel is.
You must be logged in to see this link.
i meant to say that the blades are not sterling. so with knives, the blades have zero silver, the handles have some but often much of the weight in the handle is not silver at all but rather just filler. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2009 : 09:23:52
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| Make sure it is indeed sterling. For an online guide, try You must be logged in to see this link. that has some useful information and id guides for different brands. Our shop, like others in town, pays about 70% of the spot price per troy ounce for sterling. So if you have one ounce of it, we pay $12.17 per ounce, for what that's worth. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2009 : 11:23:51
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quote:
Originally posted by CoinHunter53562
Make sure it is indeed sterling. For an online guide, try You must be logged in to see this link. that has some useful information and id guides for different brands. Our shop, like others in town, pays about 70% of the spot price per troy ounce for sterling. So if you have one ounce of it, we pay $12.17 per ounce, for what that's worth.
what would you pay for a 1-ounce knife? |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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Edited by - Lemon Thrower on 10/19/2009 11:24:48 |
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n/a
deleted
64 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2009 : 21:31:13
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which ounce? troy or aud?
Do you have more , or going to buy more than 1 pc?
of sterling flatware, knives are the hardest to sell and buy..
let us know if you buy and how it turned out for you.. |
"it is the tradition that a Kentuckian does not retreat, he does not have to" |
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jadedragon
Administrator
Canada
3788 Posts |
Posted - 10/28/2009 : 23:42:21
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quote:
Originally posted by CoinHunter53562
Make sure it is indeed sterling. For an online guide, try You must be logged in to see this link. that has some useful information and id guides for different brands. Our shop, like others in town, pays about 70% of the spot price per troy ounce for sterling. So if you have one ounce of it, we pay $12.17 per ounce, for what that's worth.
I added that useful link to the Links forum. Thanks |
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Buying Sterling silverware?
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