What is sterling silver hollowware worth?

What sterling is worth today

Silver is trading at $50.10 per troy ounce (the Kitco bid). We pay 80% of the silver content for sterling:

Scrap prices are per gram of metal after melting, not per gram of what you send. Stones are removed, and dirt, glue, springs, and anything else that isn't gold or silver burn off or separate out, so the weight paid is usually less than your scale shows.

Sterling or silver plate?

• Sterling: stamped STERLING or 925, or with British hallmarks such as a lion. Much American hollowware is marked "Sterling" with the maker's name.
• Silver plate: EP, EPNS, EPC, "Sheffield plate", "quadruple plate", or a maker's name with no "sterling" means a thin layer of silver over base metal. Plate has almost no silver value.
• Coin silver: older American pieces marked COIN are about 90% silver, and they're priced on that content.

Weighted pieces hold much less silver

Candlesticks, candelabra, and some bowls and compotes are "weighted": a thin sterling shell filled with pitch or cement, often stamped "weighted" or "reinforced". Most of their weight isn't silver. We pay on the silver recovered after melting, so a weighted pair of candlesticks may hold only a fraction of its weight in silver.

When a piece is worth more than its silver

Antique pieces from well-known silversmiths, and fine British and American pieces in good condition, can be worth more to collectors than as silver. Send photos of the marks before you ship. Our minimum for scrap sterling is 1 kilo, and flatware and hollowware can be combined.

Silver guides: Sterling silver jewelry · Sterling flatware · Sterling hollowware · Scrap silver · Silver bars · Silver rounds · Troy ounces, grams, and pennyweight

We pay top dollar for silver, at published rates set before you sell.