Advice on scrapping silver.

I have a box of broken, dented, pitted and mangled sterling silver. Yesterday, I found a fairly large sterling silver bowl at the thrift store that will join the pile. I've never scrapped silver. Is there anything I should know? My neighbor said I should wait and see if prices go up. Thoughts? Thank you.

 

Wait

 

Good advice! I just looked at historical prices. What a difference from 2011!

 

Check to see if there is a refinery within a reasonable distance for you to travel. You would realize a better price than passing it through a middle man. I vote for waiting too.

 

Thank you Sandra. That's great information. I just checked and there are a few refineries within a reasonable distance. I'm definitely going to wait.

 

You may need to make an appointment with the refinery and they will let you know their expectations, ie: separating the shell of sterling on knife handles and stripping weighted items such as candlesticks.
Good way to spend your time while awaiting the rise of silver prices.

 

Scrap it now........then go find more...
trying to figure out if and when silver will rise or fall in value...& by how much.....
Well....good luck with that !

 

I generally turn and burn, but then I rarely have enough for it to be worth a trip to a refinery. The rules in CT require some kind of licensing too, the last I heard.

 

If it is stuff you bought at thrift store prices, usually way below metal value, you might as well sell it now and take a profit. It may not be as big (or small) a profit as you'd get in the future, but youu could then use the money to buy a nice keeping piece, or to fund more thrift buying.
It's only people who paid whatever the metal value was at the time and really do not need the money at present who should put the stuff aside and wait and see what happens.

Refinaries may have a minimum weight per consignment as margins are very small and it may not be worth the trouble to process small lots. Wherever you sell you should be able to get at least 95% of spot price, so beware, buyers can offer whatever they think they can get away with.

 

JMHO.
have a look once in a fortnight on a site like this:
https://www.moneymetals.com/precious-metals-charts/silver-price

real fast changes would be in the News.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Thursday

and wow, I see they pay more when it's in kilograms, so get yourself a metric scale quick

 

Have done better selling on ebay for clean scrap than what any of the local people pay. Have been meaning to send to a refinery for better pricing but have not gotten around to doing so. I am holding for now so this is a moot point. Someone here once recommended Midwest Refineries so may try them at some point. We have nothing close to here.

 

Hi,
I miss the old days. A hospital threw out several dumpsters of old X-rays back in the 70s. I made almost 7000 dollars on them and only emptied part of one dumpster. Of course the silver market was 30 dollars an ounce. Thanks to those two brothers who tried to corral the silver market. Do not try the newer stuff since it is not silver chloride but just photographic plastic.
greg

 

Worse, these days they're digital.

 

Hunt Bros. ..........& I remember the long lines at the silver dealers when it was $80 an once.