Sterling Silver Price
Sterling silver has been a popular and affordable option for jewelry for years. This is largely because it is lightweight, durable, and easy to manipulate for delicate designs. However, the metal has a variety of other uses as well. You may also find it in kitchenware, hand mirrors, and more.
Since it is so easy to find it in many households, estate sales, and auctions, many people find themselves wondering if it’s worth any money. Just like any other metal, the price can vary from year to year based on supply and demand. In fact, sterling silver value has seen many fluctuations over the last 100 years. To know more about the price and value of silver grams, we recommend that you keep reading this guide on sterling silver.
What is 925 Silver?
Sterling silver is not a true precious metal. Rather, it is an alloy which means that it is silver mixed with another metal from the periodic table. Most commonly, it is made with copper, but it could also include zinc, nickel, or another element.
925 silver is simply another name for sterling silver. The name comes from the percentage of silver that is used in the precious metal alloy. Most countries, including the United States, require that sterling silver be at least 92.5% silver, which is why it's called 925 Silver. 92.5% is the most common standard, but France and some other countries require 95%.
Is Sterling Silver Worth Anything?
Though it isn’t worth as much as pure silver, sterling silver can still prove to be a valuable asset. Typically, people make money off of sterling silver when they sell it to be melted down. The money they are paid is based on how much pure silver they get from the item. However, it’s important to keep in mind that vintage pieces can be worth far more than the value of the metal itself. There are many collectors of sterling silver wares, so it would be wise to check the value of the specific item instead of just relying on the value of the silver itself.
How Much is Sterling Silver Worth?
If you’re set on melting down the sterling silver, then you’ll use the current spot price of pure silver to determine silver 925 price. Therefore, if you are wondering, “how much is 925 silver worth?” you need to know how much silver is going for on the market. You can use a sterling silver calculator to figure out the 925 silver price today, or you can figure it out yourself.
Calculating it yourself is easier than it sounds. You simply need to know three things:
- The percentage of pure silver in the alloy
- The current silver price
- How many troy ounces you have (1 US ounce= .911 troy ounces)
Once you have this information, you can simply multiply all of the numbers to calculate the 925 silver price.
How Much is One Ounce of Sterling Silver?
We can use that formula to calculate the current price of one ounce of sterling silver based on the spot price of silver. At the time this article was written, silver was valued at $23.71 per ounce. Assuming the sterling silver is 92.5% silver, one ounce of sterling silver would be worth $19.98 per ounce.
How Much is a Gram of Silver Worth?
Some people prefer to know the price of silver in grams. In order to figure that out, you must know how many grams is in an ounce of silver. However, silver is measured in troy ounces, so you can’t just convert regular ounces to grams. Instead, you’ll divide one ounce by .911 troy ounces and multiply that by the number of grams per ounce, which is 28.3495 grams. The answer will tell you that there are 31.1 grams of silver in one troy ounce of silver. From there, you can use that to find out how much is 1 gram of silver worth.
For our example, we know that one ounce of sterling silver is worth $19.98, so if we divide that by 31.1 grams, we find that one gram of silver is worth about $0.64 in today’s market.
How much is Silver Per Pound?
Once you know how much is silver per gram, you can figure how the value of a pound of sterling silver. All you have to do is multiply the sterling silver price per gram by the number of grams in a pound, which is 453.592.
Since we know that the current 925 silver price per gram is $0.64, we can determine that the current spot price of one pound of sterling silver is $290.30.
What is Sterling Silver Worth When It’s Scrapped?
Whether you’ve just inherited boxes of sterling silver kitchen utensils or you want to scrap some old jewelry, you’re probably wondering if you’ll make any money when it’s all melted down. While it won’t make you as much money as pure silver or gold, you can still figure out the value when you learn the sterling silver scrap price. You can use the calculations we did above to get a better idea of how much you can earn from your sterling silver collection.
As we mentioned before, sometimes sterling silver pieces are worth more than their actual silver content. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do research on each piece before you decide to melt it.
Find out More about the Price of Sterling Silver Per Gram
Are you interested in learning more about the value of sterling silver? If so, you’ve come to the right place! International Precious Metals is here to provide you with more information on precious metals of all kinds, so we would be happy to answer any questions you have about sterling silver values. We encourage you to pick up the phone to call one of our helpful representatives, or you can get in touch with us through our convenient chat form. Either way, we are confident that we can assist you with all of your precious metal buying and selling needs.
If you’re interested in reading more about rare US coins, check out some of our other great posts including, ‘Investing in Gold Coins vs Bars’, ‘Is it Safe to Buy Silver Online' and ‘Guide To Buying Gold’.