Best place to offload silverware?

Bossypants

Apologies if this is the wrong forum, I couldn't work out where else it might go, and hoping you wise old stylers can point the way!

Basically, I have a bag of old (still 20th century) silver cutlery. Nothing particularly exciting, just odds and sods, no sets or anything. I'd like to get rid of it, and while I realise it won't be worth much, was wondering where would be the best place to go for something like that? Jeweller's, pawn shop, something else? Please help and thank you!

allybee101

I took a small bag of mixed silver and gold to a jewellers fairly recently. If it's not sets of items it will most likely be melted down rather than sold, although an antiques shop might sell them on as they are. I'd suggest you go to at least three shops, on the same day if you can (so the market prices are the same) and get a written quote from each. Then go back to whoever offers the best price. A small amount of legwork can net you a better price. There was £20 difference between the three I visited.

PasturesNew

Hatton Garden Metals would pay you 20p/gram, £20/100grams at the moment, with an extra 10% if you opt to be paid in Argos or Homebase vouchers. Just to give you a rough idea in mind about what's about the right amount it might be worth.

GreyQueen

PasturesNew wrote: »

Hatton Garden Metals would pay you 20p/gram, £20/100grams at the moment, with an extra 10% if you opt to be paid in Argos or Homebase vouchers. Just to give you a rough idea in mind about what's about the right amount it might be worth.

I know someone whose shop buys and sells silver and this is a fair price right now.

This would be for sterling silver 925, not plate, btw.

Silver is pretty low on the market right now and if not desperate for the space/ the dosh, you might want to let it loiter for a few years when it could well be worth more. HTH.

Bossypants

Thanks guys, much appreciated! I will call in to a few places on the weekend, to at least see what is what (I know some of it is sterling and at least one piece is plate but there's a whole other bunch I have no clue about).

GreyQueen

Bossypants wrote: »

Thanks guys, much appreciated! I will call in to a few places on the weekend, to at least see what is what (I know some of it is sterling and at least one piece is plate but there's a whole other bunch I have no clue about).

British silver will be hallmarked and there should be several small stamps grouped together; one for the city, one which will be the maker's mark, one which will be a letter which relates to the date of that particular city's silvermarking scheme, one for the country. You will probably need a magnifying glass to see them. Silver marks are up on t'interweb. Even jewellers will use reference guides rather than memorise all the variables.

Jewellers in this city have drawerfuls of nice silver cutlery which they can't presently sell for more than scrap metal value but which they're hanging onto in case the market changes.

This is just one of the useful websites :http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html

Sterling 925 means 92.5 % pure silver and this is the British standard. Other countries have other standards like 800 (80% pure). You probably won't be able to sell the plated stuff.

You can presently buy one troy ounce of 999 pure silver (31.1034768 grammes) for about £16 in the form of a bullion coin like a Britannia.

Bossypants

Thanks GreyQueen! After looking through it all, I am embarrassed to admit that every single bit of it is plate. Still, could have been worse, could have dragged it to the jeweller only to have him tell me that!

I'll pop it on eBay as a 'vintage lot' and count myself lucky if I get £10 for it.

Sally_A

When I cleared out my cutlery drawer there were odds and ends and mismatched items....too good to chuck away, so I took them into work for the kitchen drawer.

Gratefully received and used daily.

cbrown372

I recently saw some lovely bracelets that had been made from silver forks and spoons it was only when it was pointed out to me that I realised it had been cutlery. Sadly it came from Africa but you might find some who would use your cutlery for similar.

GreyQueen

Bossypants wrote: »

Thanks GreyQueen! After looking through it all, I am embarrassed to admit that every single bit of it is plate. Still, could have been worse, could have dragged it to the jeweller only to have him tell me that!

I'll pop it on eBay as a 'vintage lot' and count myself lucky if I get £10 for it.

It happens a lot, especially as 20th century electro plated nickel silver (EPNS) often has its letters in what looks like hallmark stamps. You really do need a magnifying glass/ jeweller's loup to check it properly. If you've seen a lot of real silver, in various degrees of natural tarnish, tarnished EPNS also has a yellowish undertone to it. Hard to describe exactly, and not a 100% reliable indicator (the pros will always check for the hallmarks anyway).

Real silver cutlery is found every weekend slumming it among the EPNS in random boxes at bootsales etc, which is why those who know will always give them a paw through. Silver is pretty heavy, so if you handle something which seems weightier than you'd expect given its size, it's always worth giving it a closer look.

EPNS walks through the door every week in my pal's shop, which disappoints the owners greatly when they find it's valueless.

If anyone aspires to own real silver cutlery/ other silver items, it's pretty darned cheap atm. I've been offered handsome pieces at a whisker above scrap price as a lot of dealers loathe sending attractive items for melt.

Sadly I, like a lot of modern people, don't have a silvery lifestyle (I do have a solid silver tea caddy spoon, tho and know it's weight to a fraction of a gramme).