For example if you sell 100 ounces of sterling silver you will only be paid 92 5 of the spot price of silver because the other 7 5 is either copper zinc or another metal.
Can you sell 925 silver.
This leaves you with 19 79 grams of actual silver to work with.
925 silver is sterling silver.
But to really know for sure you need to do a few tests.
If it says sterling ster or 925 the silver is sterling.
Unlike soft pure silver sterling silver is relatively durable and can be used to make all sorts of items.
Multiply the grams of actual silver 19 79 in the example by the current price of silver in grams.
So as you can see.
You may not realize how large a role sterling silver plays in our everyday lives.
Since sterling silver is 92 5 silver you would take 925 x 21 4.
In order for a silver to be classified as sterling silver it must meet at least a 92 5 purity aka 925.
You might sell silver jewelry you never wear or sell your worn sterling silver utensils to help fund a nice replacement set.
Sterling silver sellers need to keep in mind that since sterling silver isn t pure silver the weight alone will not determine how much one gets paid.
Conversely metals that contain less than 92 5 percent silver are not sterling silver which is important to keep in mind when buying sterling silver.
We review these tests in our silver authenticity test guide.
Plated silver is worth significantly less than sterling so sterling silver is what you want to try to sell.
For example let s say your silver weighs 21 4 grams and that it is 925 sterling silver.