Tips For Selling Silver
BOSTON (CBS) - The price of silver has moved around a lot lately. A few weeks ago, it hit a peak of $48 dollars an ounce.
It's down from that high but is still more than double what it was last year. If you are thinking about cashing in your grandmother's tea set, we have a few things for you to consider before you head to your local dealer.
WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben reports.
Jacob Notowitz has been a dealer for decades and he has seen a lot of people come into his shop looking to unload their silver, but many have left disappointed. That is because things that look like sterling silver are only silver-plated.
"There's no reason for me to buy that," he said.
You want to start by looking for a 'hallmark' or stamp on the item.
"Almost every piece of jewelry that's made of silver will say the word sterling or it will have the symbol 925. That represents the purity of the silver," Notowitz said.
Silver coins minted in the US prior to 1964 are always in demand. An 1882 silver dollar Notowitz showed us was worth about $32. He also showed us a handful of silver jewelry that was worth about $28.
There are jewelry and coin shops all over Massachusetts that will buy your silver pieces, but how do you know if you are getting a good offer? Here's how to find a rough estimate.
Weigh your pieces and then multiply by the day's spot price, which you can find online. A reasonable offer is between 50% - 70% of that amount. So if you have an ounce of silver with a spot price of $35, you would walk away with between $17 and $27.
If you're looking for real cash, you'd be better off gathering up any old gold jewelry you don't wear anymore. One ounce, about the size of ten pennies, would net you more than $1,000.
