How to identifying your Silver - time to declutter and sell your junk?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent many pleasant Saturdays combing yard, car-boot, and estate sales for items to add to your collections or for resale. We'll...... That was until this year, when things took a sudden change!

The lockdowns associated with Covid-19 have only recently begun to be lifted, and are in danger of being reimposed as infection rates appear to be rising once again. Unfortunately, no one knows when car-boot sale season will resume, and we can all get back to looking for those hidden gems, lost Van Goughs and Precious metal treasures. But by now, you’ve probably had the time to sort through that pile of stuff you’ve accumulated over the years. Chances are that you picked up quite a number of pieces that are silver-plated or even, possibly, silver, and you’d like to know what they are and what they’re worth.

Just as in the realm of jewelry, your eyes and a magnifying glass are the first tools you would use to help identify your object. Flip it over and check for any marks on the bottom. Almost all sterling will be marked “sterling” or 925 or .925 or some combination. Chances are that there will also be a hallmark or maker’s mark that can be looked up in any good reference work. Silver-plate may be marked only with a company name or logo.

Once you have identified the maker, a web search of auction results will give you a general idea of your object’s value, don’t forget to check sites such as Heritage Auctions and Hindman.

At this point you might wish to be certain that what you have is not a fake or forgery or silver-plated copy of a noted piece. A magnet will not tell you that an object is actually silver (a non-magnetic metal), but it will indicate the presence of a magnetic material such as iron, nickel, or steel. And since silver possesses the highest thermal conductivity of all metals, it melts ice really fast. Try putting an ice cube on a silver plate or in a silver creamer. It will turn to liquid in less than a minute.

Of course, it may be that your object has no worth in the secondary markets beyond its bullion (silver) content. If so, you will want to keep an eye on the spot-price of silver, which has fluctuated tremendously over the last decade, since it reached a high of almost $50 per ounce in 2011, and is currently experiencing great volatility.

So go check your scrap silver, you may be sitting on a (metaphorical) goldmine..... Pun intended!