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Reuters

Like a lot of American couples in the late 1950s, my parents got a set of sterling silverware for their wedding. And also like many, they have not used it for years.
So this spring, with my parents looking to move and my sister, brother and me uninterested in silverware that requires regular polishing, I started looking to sell it.
Even though my parents' full-service set for 12 was from a reputable manufacturer, Towle, and in impeccable condition in a blue-velvet-lined wooden box, selling it turned out to be neither as easy nor as lucrative as we had hoped.
"Do not expect your 19th- or 20th-century flatware is going to be worth a lot of money," said Matthew Erskine, a lawyer and principal at the Erskine Co, a strategic adviser to entrepreneurs and collectors.
If you have high-end Tiffany, that is better than mass-market sterling silverware by the likes of Towle or Reed & Barton. "They cranked that stuff out like popcorn," Erskine said.
Still, even if what you have is not worthy of Antiques Roadshow, you will want to get a sense of what you have. Real sterling silver should be identified with the number .925 marked in miniature print. Other details may also be noted.
Picking a buyer means venturing into unregulated turf, where it is easy to be ripped off unless you know your stuff.
Be careful of buyers who advertise heavily or want to do a quick deal. And be aware that regardless of where you sell on the open market, you may owe taxes on the gain.
Start with the most high-end buyer on your list, and work your way down, advises Stuart Slavid, a vice-president at auction house Skinner Inc, one of whose specialities is silver. That way you will have a better chance of getting the best price.
Slavid figures that some 75 per cent of those who bring in silver have something worth more than melt value. Certain patterns by Tiffany and Gorham are particularly prized by collectors, he notes.
I did not think our silver was especially valuable, so I started by sussing out what it was selling for on eBay and Replacements Ltd, a company that sells sterling silverware by the piece and posts all its retail prices online.
Replacements was selling a teaspoon in our 1958 Awakening pattern at US$35.99. A large serving spoon went for US$79.96.
I was pretty sure our items would be worth more at resale than as metal, especially since silver prices had fallen to around US$19.50 per troy ounce from their 2011 peak near US$50.
But getting a good price proved less simple. I contacted Replacements, which I calculated was offering the 72 items in our set for about US$2,800. It offered to pay around US$700.
I also contacted Classic Replacements, but it had no interest in our pattern. A friend of a friend with a retail store offered just US$500.
I could have got more quotes from silver buyers or even talked with an auction house.
In retrospect, I wish I had, but it seemed that melting would be a better deal.
Refiners buy all types of metals and pay based on their melt values. Sterling is 92.5 per cent silver, and there is also a little bit of loss during the melting process; a good refiner should pay 90 per cent of the melt value.
A few refiners got good online reviews. I chose Northern Refineries. It was willing to buy the knives, which many refiners refuse because the blades are stainless and there is filler inside the handles to create the appropriate weight.
My parents packed their silverware, and shipped it off a few weeks ago, making sure to insure the package. The company promised to pay 90 per cent of the value of the silver after melt, at current prices.
We waited.
When my parents received the cheque this month, it was not as high as we had hoped, but it was far better than the other offers we'd received: US$1,052.
Now we just have two sets of china to sell.


Selling old sterling silverware a challenge

Opinion

Comment

The metal itself is not as precious as it once was, and finding buyers for even quality sterling tableware can be a challenge


Like a lot of American couples in the late 1950s, my parents got a set of sterling silverware for their wedding. And also like many, they have not used it for years.
