Scrap Silver
Calculator
Instant melt value for any scrap silver item. Sterling, fine, coin, and European grades. Live spot prices — every purity, every unit.
How much is scrap silver worth today?
Scrap silver is worth its silver content multiplied by today's live spot price of $— per troy ounce. The exact value depends on purity (Sterling 925 = 92.5% of spot; Fine 999 = 99.9%; Coin 900 = 90%; European 800 = 80%) and weight.
Enter your item's weight and purity into the calculator above for an instant result — or see today's full silver price breakdown →
Silver Prices by Purity Grade
All values auto-update from the live spot price. Click any card for a dedicated purity calculator.
Popular Silver Searches Answered
What is 925 silver worth?
Sterling silver (925) is worth $—/g or $—/oz at today's live spot price.
Full 925 calculator →Sterling silver melt value
Formula: weight × 0.925 × spot. A 5g sterling ring is worth ~$— in melt value today.
Sterling calculator →Coin silver value (pre-1965)
Pre-1965 US coins are 90% silver, worth $—/oz at today's spot price.
Coin silver calculator →Try a Real-World Example
How to Calculate Scrap Silver Value
Example: 100g sterling at $30/oz = 100 ÷ 31.1035 × 0.925 × $30 = $89.21 · Full melt value guide →
What Dealers Actually Pay for Scrap Silver
Melt value is the ceiling — not what you receive. Here's the realistic payout by dealer type.
What Is Scrap Silver — and How Is It Valued?
What Is Scrap Silver — and Why Does It Have Value?
Scrap silver is any solid silver object valued for its precious metal content rather than its craftsmanship or collectibility — broken jewelry, mismatched flatware, worn coins, industrial components, even dental silver. If it contains measurable silver, it has real calculable value tied directly to the global spot price.
Silver's value is intrinsic: a bent ring holds the same silver value as a bullion bar of equal weight and purity. Refiners purchase scrap, melt and purify it, then return it to market as investment-grade bullion or industrial feedstock.
What qualifies? Broken jewelry (rings, necklaces, bracelets), sterling flatware (spoons, trays, tea sets), pre-1965 US coins, bullion bars and rounds, antique frames. The critical distinction is solid silver vs. silver-plated. Items marked EPNS, Silver Plate, or Sheffield Plate have only a microscopic coating — negligible scrap value.
Full guide: what counts as scrap silver →Understanding Silver Purity: What 999, 925, 900 and 800 Mean
Purity is measured in parts per thousand. A 999-stamped item is 99.9% pure silver. A 925-stamped piece contains 925 parts silver per 1,000 — the remaining 75 parts are copper for durability. Purity directly multiplies your melt value.
- 999 Fine Silver — 99.9% pure. Bullion bars, modern investment coins. Highest melt value. Stamped .999 or 999.
- 925 Sterling Silver — 92.5% pure. Most jewelry, flatware, decorative items worldwide. Stamped 925 or STERLING.
- 900 Coin Silver — 90% pure. Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars. Identified by coin date, not stamp.
- 800 European Silver — 80% pure. German, Dutch, Italian, and Scandinavian silverware. Stamped 800 with regional marks.
How to Test If Silver Is Real
Not sure if your item is genuine solid silver? Use these three tests before calculating value.
More Silver Calculators
Specialized calculators for every silver scenario.
Silver Melt Value
Find the melt value of any silver item by weight and purity.
Sterling Silver
Calculate the value of 925 sterling silver items.
Junk Silver
Melt value of pre-1965 US silver coins by face value.
Silver Bar Value
Current value of 1oz, 10oz, 100oz, and 1kg bars.
Silver Jewelry
Melt value for rings, chains, necklaces, bracelets.
Silverware Value
Silver value of spoons, forks, trays, cups, plates.
Batch Calculator
Add multiple items and see the combined total.
Weight Converter
Grams, troy ounces, pennyweights, kilograms.
Need the Full Silver Price Breakdown?
See live spot price, 7-day interactive chart, per-gram & per-ounce rates for all purity grades, and real-time dealer payout estimates — all on one page.
Explore More Silver Tools & Guides
925 Silver Value
Detailed sterling silver calculator with live prices.
Silver Price Per Gram
Live per-gram rates with full unit conversion.
Silver Hallmarks
Decode every stamp — US, UK, Europe, Russia.
Silver Prices Today
Live spot price with chart and market analysis.
How to Test Silver
5 proven methods to test if silver is real.
Sell Scrap Silver
Where to sell for the highest payout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers about scrap silver valuation.
Scrap silver is worth its silver content times the live spot price. Sterling (925) = 92.5% of spot, coin silver (900) = 90%, fine silver (999) = 99.9%. Use the calculator above for an exact result.
Multiply weight in troy ounces by purity (decimal) and the spot price. Formula: Value = Weight × Purity × Spot Price. The calculator above handles all unit conversions automatically.
Spot price is the global market price for pure 999 fine silver per troy ounce. Melt value is what your specific item is worth based on its actual silver content: spot price × purity decimal.
Most dealers pay 70–95% of melt value. Online refiners offer the most (90–98%), pawn shops the least (50–70%). See our full selling guide to maximize your payout.
A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams — the standard unit for precious metals globally. It is about 10% heavier than a regular avoirdupois ounce (28.35 g).
Check for hallmarks (925, 999, STERLING, 800). Silver is not magnetic. For certainty, use a silver acid test kit ($10–20). See the full testing guide →
Very little. Silver-plated items (EPNS, Silver Plate, Sheffield Plate) have only a microscopic silver coating and negligible scrap value. Only solid silver items are worth calculating.
Our spot price refreshes every hour from multiple market sources (GoldAPI.io, metals.live, goldprice.org), served via global CDN for instant page loads.
⚙️ Methodology & Sources
📡 Price Sources
GoldAPI.io (primary), metals.live, goldprice.org. Multiple sources prevent stale data.
⏱ Update Frequency
Prices refresh every 60 min via Vercel Edge CDN. Instant load with current data.
🧮 Formula
Melt Value = Weight (troy oz) × Purity × Spot. 1 troy oz = 31.1035 g.
⚠️ Disclaimer
Informational estimates only. Actual dealer payouts vary by buyer and quantity.