Although I prefer not to end a sentence with a preposition(!)...I am guessing that this is your most important question!

So... let's talk about the knives in your sterling silver flatware set  - you need to know this first.

Granted, there are many different types in the flatware serving knives, however, to keep it simple we will just focus on the basic dinner knife most likely included with the rest of your sterling flatware setting.

The reason I want to draw your attention to this is because the dinner knife in your sterling silver flatware set is NOT comprised entirely of sterling silver. The knife blade itself is typically made of stainless (and usually labeled as such); the handle, however, IS sterling silver (and also labeled as such).

Additionally, the handle of the knife is either hollow or possibly weighted, which will make a difference in how much silver yield is actually contained in the knife itself.

For purposes of this blog entry, we will address the weighted dinner knife only.

Here is the before and after picture of an 8.5 in. sterling dinner knife with a 4.75 in. handle:


                                                                      

Now, let's look at the numbers...which translates to: What will someone pay me for my sterling silver flatware??

Here is an Example of what your dinner knife might weigh in troy oz :
   
                                                                        

And here is an example of what a dinner knife would weigh with Only the weight of the handle remaining (troy oz):
 
                                                                             


OK...Bottom line time in this example:

Now, you have 0.66 troy oz. of Total weight. Next...

Multiply that by .925 (or 92.5%)...this is the actual amount of silver contained in your sterling flatware knife.

Next multiply that number by the current price of 'spot silver .'   * see example below...

0.66 * .925 = 0.61 ozt (this is the actual amount of silver yield on this sterling silver dinner knife)
0.61 * $28.00 (example of current spot price of silver per troy oz)  =  $ 17.09  (this would be 100% price)

17.09 * 0.50 = $12.95/ozt
17.09 * 0.70 = $18.13/ozt

The above example gives you a low and high range between 50% to 70%, which is what you should expect to get offered for your sterling silver flatware. (Based upon spot silver at $28.00 per ozt)

Obviously, you want to shop for the higher end of that range; and in today's market, you should reasonably expect to get paid around 70% of the current spot silver price.

So, based upon this, when you find the right buyer at the higher end, and let's say you have 10 knives and sell those at the 70% price illustrated above, that is an estimated  $181.00 that you could be paid.  And...that is only for your dinner knives.

Now, if you have spoons and forks and other serving pieces....Cha Ching!

I will be addressing further examples of additional sterling silver flatware pieces on this blog so that you may have a realistic idea of what you could expect to be paid for your sterling silver flatware in today's market.

I hope you found this helpful and useful.

If you would like more information, please visit our website at SilverLinings925,com .