Page 1 of 1

Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:21 pm
by oober
So I was just looking thru an Antique mall and spotted a 5 candle weighted sterling candle holder for $130.00 It is marked weighted sterling and probably weighs 3 lbs or so. If I were to pick this up, how much of this would be actual sterling? I did not see a makers name on it by the way.

Re: Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 4:39 pm
by davycoppitt
The ones I have broken down averaged about 7% by total weight. I believe someone else on this forum had about 10% on theirs.

Re: Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:18 pm
by argent_pur
Some refiners take weighted sterling, others won't. Some will only accept it if you have cleared out the filler material. I would personally stay away from all weighted silver because you just don't know how much silver you're getting. Stick to forks, spoons, plates, and the like...flatware stuff.

Re: Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:49 pm
by Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay
oober wrote:So I was just looking thru an Antique mall and spotted a 5 candle weighted sterling candle holder for $130.00 It is marked weighted sterling and probably weighs 3 lbs or so. If I were to pick this up, how much of this would be actual sterling? I did not see a makers name on it by the way.


Who made it? If there are no makers hallmarks... how do you know it is really Sterling?

There were many made by Westmoreland sold on feebay last two years. IMHO they were not worth $130.00. If all you want is the melt value... run from this one.

Sterling hollow-ware, and good candle holders are very expensive. If you can find hollow-ware at a low price and then resell it for a profit... it is worth your while.

Good ones are worth more than melt value. Do a little homework and find out who made it. If you can't find who made it... walk away.

Re: Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 7:58 pm
by oober
Sheikh_yer_Bu'Tay wrote:
oober wrote:So I was just looking thru an Antique mall and spotted a 5 candle weighted sterling candle holder for $130.00 It is marked weighted sterling and probably weighs 3 lbs or so. If I were to pick this up, how much of this would be actual sterling? I did not see a makers name on it by the way.


Who made it? If there are no makers hallmarks... how do you know it is really Sterling?

There were many made by Westmoreland sold on feebay last two years. IMHO they were not worth $130.00. If all you want is the melt value... run from this one.

Sterling hollow-ware, and good candle holders are very expensive. If you can find hollow-ware at a low price and then resell it for a profit... it is worth your while.

Good ones are worth more than melt value. Do a little homework and find out who made it. If you can't find who made it... walk away.




That's what I did, With only finding "sterling weighted" stamped on it during a cursory inspection, I did decide to walk away.

Re: Buying weighted silver

PostPosted: Mon Feb 07, 2011 9:45 pm
by Coppercrazy
The silver skin peels off and is only a small fraction of the weight-There would be no money in it at 130.00 but always look for weighted sterling at rummage sales etc when it can actually be cheap enough to make a profit on or be under melt