Flatware, jewelry & hollowware
Sterling Silver Scrap Value Calculator
List your sterling by weight and see the pure silver, the melt value and the offer at the percentage you choose. Weighted pieces get special handling, so you only count silver that is really there.
Estimated silver price. Enter today's spot price for an exact figure.
A gram of solid sterling holds $1.78 of silver at this price.
You set the percentage. It is not a prediction. Buyers pay a share of melt, and the share differs by buyer. The slider starts at 70%, the minimum online dealer JM Bullion guarantees on sterling silver (its terms). A local buyer may pay more or less. Replace it with the percentage in your quote.
Your items
Add a line for each kind of piece. Weigh like items together, for example all the teaspoons in one line.
Pure silver
—
troy ounces
Melt value
—
at the spot price above
Offer at 70% of melt
—
if the buyer pays that share
Enter a weight in an item above to see its value.
Check the mark on your piece
Type a mark to see what it means.
Look inside the bowl of a spoon, on the back of a fork handle, under a base or on a jewelry clasp. A loupe helps.
Item 1
Enter a weight to count this item.
How the scrap value is worked out
Silver is priced per troy ounce, and one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. Turn your weight into grams, multiply by the purity, divide by 31.1035, then multiply by the spot price. For solid sterling the purity is 0.925. A set weighing 100 grams holds 92.5 grams of pure silver, which is 2.974 troy ounces. That is melt value, what the silver alone is worth.
Weighted sterling: count only the silver
Some sterling is not solid. Weighted pieces have a thin sterling shell around a filler such as wax, cement, pitch or plaster, and some also hold a metal reinforcing bar. Candlesticks, candy dishes and salt and pepper shakers with heavy bases are the usual examples. Weigh the whole piece and you are weighing the filler too.
Knives are a separate case. Table knife blades are generally steel, so only the handle can be sterling. Choose "Knife with steel blade" and the calculator asks for the sterling share.
This calculator does not assume a share. Your piece is not ours to guess, and there is no standard percentage. Tick "Not all of this weight is silver" and enter only a share you can support. Until you do, the item stays out of the total. Weighted pieces are supposed to be marked "weighted," so check the base. Ask a buyer how they handle weighted pieces before you carry them in.
Sterling, silver plate and other lookalikes
| Mark or name | What it is | Count it? |
|---|---|---|
| Sterling, Ster., 925 | At least 92.5% silver | Yes, .925 |
| Coin, 900 | At least 90% silver | Yes, .900 |
| 800 | 80% silver, an old German and French standard | Yes, 800 |
| EPNS | Electroplated nickel silver: no silver in the base, a thin silver coat | No |
| Silver on copper, Sheffield plate | Silver fused to copper, mostly 1740s to 1840s | No |
| Nickel silver, German silver | Copper alloy with no silver | No |
British pieces carry hallmarks. The number 925 is the fineness mark, and the lion passant, a walking lion, is the traditional sterling mark. The town mark names the assay office: a leopard's head is London, an anchor Birmingham, a Yorkshire rose Sheffield and a castle Edinburgh. The word "Sheffield" alone proves nothing, because Sheffield is both an assay office and the home of Sheffield plate. Look for the fineness number.
Why offers come in below melt
A buyer has to test the metal, refine it and make a margin. We do not claim a typical percentage because we have not found a neutral published figure. Get two or three quotes in writing, each with the weight, the stamp and the percentage of melt. Before you scrap a full set, ask a dealer whether it is worth more intact.
Next steps
- See what a gram, ounce or pound of silver is worth on silver price per gram.
- Have old coins in the drawer too? Try the junk silver calculator or the silver coin melt value calculator.
- Ready to sell? Compare coin dealers near you and read how to sell a coin collection.
Questions
How do I calculate the scrap value of sterling silver?
Convert the weight to grams, multiply by 0.925, divide by 31.1035 to get troy ounces of pure silver, then multiply by the silver spot price. For example, 100 grams of solid sterling at a $60 spot price holds 2.974 troy ounces of silver, worth about $178.44. The calculator does this for every item you list.
Is weighted sterling worth its full weight in silver?
No. Weighted pieces have a thin sterling shell around a filler such as wax, cement or pitch, so only the shell is silver. Enter only the sterling part of the weight, using a figure you can support, such as one a buyer gives you.
How can I tell sterling from silver plate?
Look for a mark. Sterling, Ster., 925 or a British lion passant point to sterling. EPNS, plate, plated and silver on copper mean a thin silver layer over another metal. If a piece has no mark you recognise, ask a buyer to test it before you count it.
What does the lion passant mean?
It is the walking lion on British hallmarks, the traditional mark for sterling silver. On modern British pieces the number 925 is the compulsory fineness mark and the lion is an optional extra, so look for both.
How much will a buyer pay for sterling scrap?
It depends on the buyer, and we have not found a neutral published figure for a typical share of melt. One published figure: JM Bullion guarantees at least 70% of melt on sterling silver. Get two or three quotes, and ask each buyer for the percentage and any deductions.
Sources: 16 CFR 23.5 (FTC silver content guide) · NIST SP 811: conversion factors · Wikipedia: Sterling silver · Wikipedia: Hallmark · Wikipedia: Electroplated nickel silver · Wikipedia: Sheffield plate · Wikipedia: Table knife · Wikipedia: Weighted sterling · Wikipedia: Fineness · AC Silver: Weighted silverware · JM Bullion: jewelry payout terms. Updated 2026-10-09.