Silver Scrap Value Calculator
Enter the weight and purity of each piece of scrap silver, sterling flatware or old silver coins to get its melt value, then pick the kind of buyer or move the payout slider to see what they would hand over after fees. Already have an offer? Type it in to see where it sits against what refiners, coin shops and pawn shops usually pay. Priced from the latest silver price, which is updated hourly.
Your silver
Is the offer fair?
Costs and larger lots
Ask the buyer for their fee schedule and payout tiers in writing; these boxes only apply what you enter. A flat fee can take most of the value of a small lot.
How this is calculated. Each piece’s weight, less any stones, is multiplied by its fineness to get fine silver, and that is priced at the fine-silver spot rate of $1.74 per gram (the latest silver price, updated hourly, $54.05 per troy ounce).
Melt value is the metal content only. It ignores any numismatic or brand premium and the making charges already paid on the piece, which is why scrapping jewellery usually returns well under what it cost. Gold against silver.
Check it is silver before you weigh it
Much of what looks like silver is plated. Cutlery marked EPNS, trays marked “silver plate” and anything a magnet picks up has little or no melt value. Sterling is stamped 925, and the stamp, not the shine, is what a buyer works from. Weigh the piece without any stones, fillings or non-silver parts, since silver is bought by the weight of metal.
Silver is also an industrial metal, so its price moves more than gold’s. See how the two have moved against each other in gold vs. silver, or price gold pieces with the gold scrap value calculator.
Frequently asked questions
+How much is my scrap silver worth?
Multiply the weight by the purity to get the pure silver content, then by the current silver price per gram. A 100 gram sterling (925) tray holds 92.5 grams of fine silver, so its melt value is 92.5 times the fine-silver gram price. What a dealer pays will be lower, usually well under the melt value for small lots.
+What do the stamps on silver mean?
925 or "sterling" is 92.5% silver, 800 and 835 are common on continental European pieces, 900 is coin silver, 958 is Britannia and 999 is fine silver. Marks such as EP, EPNS, "silver plate" or "nickel silver" mean the piece is plated or contains no silver at all, and it has no meaningful melt value. If a piece is unmarked, a dealer can test it with acid or an XRF scan.
+What are old silver coins worth as scrap?
US dimes, quarters and half dollars minted before 1965 are 90% silver, and half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver. One dollar of face value in 90% dimes or quarters weighs 22.5 grams of fine silver, which is 0.7234 troy ounces. Enter the total weight, choose the 900 purity (or 400 for the 1965 to 1970 halves) and the calculator gives the melt value. Coins in good condition or with a rare date can be worth more than their silver.
+Why does a dealer pay less than the melt value?
Because the buyer has to test the metal, refine it, carry the price risk until it is sold, and make a margin. Offers are lower still for small lots, where a flat fee takes a large share. Refiners and bullion dealers usually pay closest to melt, coin shops and jewellers less, and pawn shops least. Treat these as rules of thumb rather than quotes, and ask for several offers.
+Does the calculator include stones, fillings or weighted items?
Only if you enter them. It prices the silver content of the weight you give it. Candlesticks and flatware handles are often hollow or filled with a non-silver material, so weigh the item and enter the weight of anything that is not silver in the stones box so it is taken off. Stones, gems and decorative value are not priced.
+Which weight unit should I use?
Grams for most items, since that is what a scale shows. Silver is quoted in troy ounces of 31.1034768 grams, not the 28.35 grams of an everyday ounce, so using the wrong ounce misstates the weight by about ten percent. The unit menu also has kilograms and pennyweights.