Julia wants to know, how much is 925 silver worth?
Julia: Good morning, Alan! How are you?
Alan: Hello Julia! I’m fine, thank you. How are you?
Julia:I’m doing well. I would like to learn more about the value of .925 silver. Can you please help me determine the value of my silver items?
Alan: It’s my pleasure to help you. Could you please be so kind as to send me some photos of your silver? That way I can see if there are any stones included, identify any designer work, etc.
Julia: Of course. I just sent you photos of my cutlery, my two silver rings and my three sterling silver bangles. I know that the bangles are made of .925 silver, and I think one of them is a Pandora bracelet with charms.
Alan: Thank you for sending me the photos! It helps me a lot when I can see the items we are discussing. Let’s start with the bangles. First of all, I want to tell you that silver has a quantifiable value. It’s the same as with the other precious metals like gold, platinum, and palladium. All precious metals are traded on the commodity exchange, and every day their prices change a bit. Sometimes the price fluctuations are higher and sometimes lower; it strongly depends on the influences of the market and the economy. That means 1 kilogram of silver has a determined value. The current market price for one kilogram of fine silver is $852.63. Sterling silver, or 925 silver, is a special silver alloy. Fine silver has a purity of 99.9%, whereas sterling silver has a purity of 92.5%. So the purity is a little bit lower, but not that much. The remaining percentage is made up of added base metals; in the majority of cases the metal is copper. So your sterling silver pieces consist of 92.5% of silver and 7.5% copper. Currently we pay $0.71 for one gram of .925 silver, $711.24 for one kilogram of .925 silver, and $1.10 for one dwt. of .925 silver.
Julia: OK, I understand. And how do you calculate the prices for my bangles?
Alan: We calculate the prices by each bangle’s weight. Other factors can also play a role in determining the value: the age, condition, manufacturer, design, and rarity will also influence the price. You said that you own a Pandora bracelet. To find out the price, we multiply the weight by our purchase price per gram or dwt. Then we can add that price a little surcharge for the manufacturer. Pandora bracelets (especially those with lots of charms) are very popular; that allows us to pay more than just the raw material value of silver.
Julia: Interesting! My Pandora silver bracelet with charms has a weight of 120 grams.
Alan: The raw material value of this silver bracelet would be around $93.88. But I estimate a value of around $125 for your .925 silver bracelet. There are some charms on it, but not that many.
Julia: That’s fine! I think that is a good price. What about my other bangle and the rings?
Alan: For the other silver bracelet and the silver rings, I would calculate prices on the basis of scrap silver.
Julia: Scrap silver, what does that mean?
Alan: Scrap silver is silver that can not longer be resold. The appearance and condition are not as good as they could be. These pieces are evaluated on the basis of the raw material value. For scrap silver, we don’t calculate surcharges. Do you know the total weight of your bracelet and rings?
Julia: Yes, all the pieces have a total weight of 165 grams.
Alan: And you are sure these pieces are also made of .925 silver?
Julia: Yes, I’m pretty sure. All items are hallmarked.
Alan: Great, that’s a good sign. For these silver pieces, we can offer you $117.35. You can also use our gold calculator to calculate our purchase prices yourself. It’s a great service tool, especially for people who have a basic knowledge of determining the value of gold and other precious metals. All you have to know is the weight of your items and the alloy. That’s enough to calculate the prices. For fine jewelry, we pay higher prices, but it’s very helpful to get a first impression about the value of your jewelry based on weight.
Julia: Yes, it is. I just tried it out- it works great! And you really pay the prices that I can calculate using your calculator?
Alan: Yes, we do. If the weight and alloy match with our analysis, then we pay exactly the price that you have calculated.
Julia: Wow, that’s very fair and clear!
Alan: Yes, that’s how it should be! We have nothing to hide. But thank you for your feedback on the gold calculator! We update the prices twice a day so that our customers can see if there are significant price fluctuations in the market.
Julia: That’s very useful. I like it a lot! Even if I weren’t serious about selling, I could use this tool for fun. It’s a pretty cool feature.
Alan: Thank you, Julia! Let’s keep going with your .925 cutlery. Do you know the manufacturer?
Julia: Good question! I don’t think so. I was hoping that it would be Reed & Barton sterling silver cutlery, but I’m afraid it’s a no-name manufacturer. It shows no special hallmarks or any other signs that it comes from a notable silversmith.
Alan: Alright. In that case, please weigh the silver cutlery, but please weigh the knives separately.
Julia: How come?
Alan: Because the blades of the silver knives are not made of actual silver. The blades are mostly made of steel; that way they are stronger and more solid. For this reason, we have to deduct around 60- 70% of the weight when we calculate the silver price of silver knives. To learn more about this topic, please read our article “How much silver is in a knife handle?”.
Julia: I understand. The total weight of all the silver spoons and silver forks is 1.8 kilograms. The knives have a weight of 600 grams.
Alan: For this cutlery set, I would estimate a material value of $1450.93. I have deducted 60% from the knives.
Julia: That’s not bad for this old stuff. You answered my question, “How much is .925 silver worth?” very well. Thank you!
Alan: Yes, in total I could estimate approximately $1,500 for your .925 sterling silver pieces! That’s good money for silver that was unused or unwanted.
Julia: I agree! With that money, I could take a cruise to the Caribbean. That sounds awesome, doesn’t it?
Alan: Yes, it does! Now you see how much .925 silver is worth. Silver is often underestimated but has real value, it’s not just silver’s “big brother,” gold, that can be valuable.
Julia: Haha, you are right. Thank you for the appraisal, Alan. You helped me a lot!
Alan: You are welcome, Julia!
