What is sterling silver jewelry 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 jewelry and flatware:

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.

Our minimum for scrap sterling is 1 kilo, about 2.2 pounds. Jewelry and flatware can be combined to reach it.

How to tell if it's sterling

• Sterling: stamped 925, .925, STER, or STERLING, often on the clasp, inside a ring band, or on the back of a pendant. Mexican pieces are often stamped 925 with "Mexico" or a maker's code.
• Lower-purity silver: 800 and 835 are common on older European silver. They're priced on their silver content; see our bids.
• Not silver at all: nickel silver, German silver, and alpaca contain no silver, and EP, EPNS, or "silver plate" means a thin layer of silver over another metal.

What doesn't count

Stones, beads, turquoise, steel clasp springs, and glue aren't silver. They come out in the melt, so we pay on the silver that's left. A designer piece, such as a signed maker's work, can be worth more than its silver; send photos if you think yours is. For forks, spoons, and serving pieces, see what sterling flatware is worth.

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.