Live silver spot — and what scrap actually pays
The number above is the spot price for one troy ounce of pure (.999) silver, in USD. As with gold, spot is wholesale; the price you'll get for sterling flatware, .925 jewelry, or junk silver coins runs at a percentage of spot scaled by the silver content.
Silver purities you'll actually run into
| Mark | Fineness | % silver | Where you find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| .9999 / "fine" | .9999 | 99.99% | Bullion bars, premium coins (Canadian Maple) |
| .999 | .999 | 99.9% | Most modern silver bullion (American Eagle, generic rounds) |
| .958 / "Britannia" | .958 | 95.8% | UK Britannia coins, some sterling flatware |
| .925 / "sterling" | .925 | 92.5% | Most flatware, jewelry, hollowware |
| .900 / "coin silver" | .900 | 90% | US pre-1965 dimes, quarters, half-dollars ("junk silver") |
| .800 | .800 | 80% | Many European pre-WWII coins, some flatware |
| Silver-plated | (varies) | thin layer | NOT silver scrap — usually rejected, ignore "EPNS" mark |
A refiner's silver payout = (spot/toz × purity × payout_factor). Payout factors run 88–95% for clean sterling, 95–98% for sealed bullion or rounds, and lower for tarnished or mixed lots. Coin shops pay closer to spot for clean junk silver (US pre-1965 90% silver coins) than refiners do because they can resell to numismatic buyers.
Silver vs gold: the practical differences
- Volatility is higher than gold — silver routinely swings 3–5% on a major macro day.
- Industrial demand matters — roughly half of silver consumption is industrial (electronics, solar, medical). Industrial cycles move silver more than gold.
- Storage cost vs value is worse — $30/toz silver means $100k of silver is ~70 lb. Bulky.
- Dealer spreads are wider — buy/sell premiums on silver coins are typically 5–15% vs 1–4% for gold.
What moves silver spot
- Industrial demand cycle — solar panel manufacturing, EV electrical systems, semiconductor wiring all consume silver.
- Gold/silver ratio — historically 50–80; spikes to 100+ in equity panics. Silver "catches up" when the ratio compresses.
- Photographic + medical legacy demand — declining but still material.
- Investment flows — ETF and physical-coin demand spike during macro stress.
Selling silver: practical tips
- Weigh in grams. A digital scale to 0.1 g resolution covers most jewelry; flatware and coins benefit from 0.01 g.
- Test for sterling with a magnet (silver is non-magnetic; many silver-plated items have steel underneath that grabs) and a chemical acid kit ($15) for confirmation.
- Pre-sort coins — US 90% silver coins (1964 and earlier dimes, quarters, halves) pay much better than melted-down sterling per dollar of face value.
- Don't clean coins. Tarnish on numismatic-grade pieces is part of the value — a polish destroys it.
- Pull out high-value items first. A single sterling tea service or sterling holloware piece may pay 3× weight if it has maker's marks.
Junk silver math (for US sellers)
Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, and half-dollars are 90% silver:
- 1 dime = ~2.25 g silver = ~0.0723 toz
- 1 quarter = ~5.625 g silver = ~0.181 toz
- 1 half = ~11.25 g silver = ~0.362 toz
- 1 silver dollar (1964 and earlier) = ~24.06 g silver = ~0.7734 toz
A "face-value bag" ($1,000 face in pre-1965 coins) contains ~715 troy ounces of silver. At spot, that's roughly 715 × spot. Coin shops typically pay 90–95% of melt for face-value bags.
Frequently asked questions
What's "junk silver" and why does it pay better than melted sterling?
"Junk silver" is the term for circulated US 90%-silver coins that have no numismatic premium individually but trade at a tight spread to spot because they're a recognized, fungible silver vehicle. Coin dealers can resell them to other dealers without smelting — that's the cost they avoid, and they pass part of the savings back.
My grandmother's silver flatware says "EPNS" — is that scrap?
No. EPNS is electroplated nickel silver — no actual silver content. Likewise "silver plate," "Sheffield plate," "German silver," and "nickel silver" are all silver-free or trace-only. Sell at a thrift or estate sale, not a refiner.
Can I sell broken sterling jewelry?
Yes. Refiners will pay weight × .925 × payout factor regardless of whether the piece is intact. Stones get separated and weighed off — get the discount in writing.
Related
- Live gold price — companion precious metal, often paired in scrap lots
- Grades & purity guide — every common mark explained
- Refining & selling guide — refiners, coin shops, and what to expect
- Market & spot guide — what moves silver day to day