Guide
Is silver plate worth anything?
Not for its silver. Silver plate is a thin coat of silver over a base metal, so there's almost no silver to recover, and gold and silver buyers don't pay for it. Its value, if any, is as tableware or decoration.
Updated October 28, 2026
How to tell plate from sterling
- Sterling is stamped STERLING, STER, or 925. Older American pieces marked COIN are about 90% silver.
- Plate is marked EP (electroplate), EPNS (electroplated nickel silver), EPBM (electroplated Britannia metal, a tin alloy), EPC (on copper), A1, "silver plate", "triple plate", or "quadruple plate".
- A maker's name alone, with no STERLING or 925, almost always means plate. Many plated pieces carry marks styled to look like hallmarks; read the words.
- Wear: on plated pieces, the high spots and the tips of forks and spoons wear through to yellowish or gray metal underneath.
U.S. law doesn't allow plated goods to be stamped "sterling" or "coin", so a genuine American STERLING mark is a good sign. See how to read silver stamps.
Why there's so little silver
Electroplating, which took over in the 1840s, deposits a thin layer of silver on the surface. Even heavily plated "quadruple plate" holds only a small fraction of its weight in silver, and recovering it costs more than it's worth. The base underneath, usually nickel silver, copper, or Britannia metal, contains no silver at all.
Sheffield plate
Old Sheffield plate, made from about 1742 until electroplating replaced it, is silver fused onto copper and rolled into sheet. It still holds only a little silver, but genuine 18th- and early 19th-century pieces can have value as antiques. Later electroplated pieces are often marked "Sheffield" too, so the word alone doesn't make a piece old.
What plate is worth instead
Plated flatware and serving pieces sell as used tableware or decor, and fine antique plate sells to collectors. We buy sterling and other solid silver, not silver plate. If you're not sure which you have, send photos of the marks.
Silver guides: Is my silverware silver? · Silver stamps · Sterling marks · Is my silver real? · Sterling flatware · How to sell silverware · All guides
We pay more for silver than pawn shops and jewelers, at a published percentage of the Kitco bid. The best place to sell silver
Your silver
Not sure if it's sterling?
Send photos of your pieces and their marks for a free written estimate. We'll tell you what's sterling and what's plate.