Calculating Silver Value: Valuing Cutlery, Jewellery and Coins Correctly
Many households keep silver in drawers and cabinets: grandparents' cutlery, candlesticks, bracelets, collector coins. Whether selling is worthwhile depends on silver content, weight and the current price. Unlike gold, the value per gram is low, so accurate calculation matters all the more. In the gold value calculator, simply select silver as the metal.
The Formula
Silver value is calculated exactly like gold value:
Melt value = weight in grams × fineness ÷ 1,000 × silver price per gram
On 24 Sept 2026 silver was around €56 per troy ounce, about €1.80 per gram of fine silver. This is an example value; enter the current price before you sell.
Silver Finenesses
1. 800 silver: 80% silver. Typical of older German cutlery and tableware. Older pieces often also bear a crescent moon and crown.
2. 835 silver: 83.5% silver. Common for jewellery and household items.
3. 925 silver (sterling): 92.5% silver. The standard for modern silver jewellery and much cutlery.
4. 999 silver (fine silver): bars and bullion coins.
Worked Examples
A cutlery set of 800 silver weighing 1,500 grams in total contains 1,200 g of fine silver. At the example price of €1.80 per gram, that is €2,160 melt value. A 925 bracelet weighing 30 grams contains 27.75 g of fine silver worth just under €50. A one-ounce bullion coin of 999 silver contains 31.07 g of fine silver and is worth around €56.
Take care with knives: the handles are often hollow and filled with cement, and the blades are steel. A knife weighing 80 grams in total may contain only 15 to 25 grams of silver. Buyers therefore usually count knives with a small flat-rate silver share or weigh only the handle shell.
Solid or Plated?
Much cutlery is only silver-plated. It bears marks such as 90 or 100, which state how many grams of silver were applied per 24 square decimetres of surface. For a whole set, that amounts to only a few grams of silver. The melt value is correspondingly low, and buyers rarely accept plated ware. For more on reading hallmarks, see Reading Gold Hallmarks.
Why the Buy-Back Discount Is Higher for Silver
When selling silver, the percentage discount is usually much larger than for gold. Testing, melting and refining take similar effort, but the value per gram is around 67 times lower at the example prices. For scrap silver, discounts of 20 to 40% are not unusual, and more for small quantities. For bars and well-known bullion coins it is lower. Enter the discount a buyer quotes in the calculator and compare several offers.
Silver coins and bars have another peculiarity in Germany: silver is never VAT-exempt. Bars carry 19% VAT when purchased, and coins are often sold under the margin scheme. You do not get this tax back when you resell, which is why the buy-back price for silver is usually well below what you paid.
Consider Collector Value
Antique tableware, pieces by renowned silversmiths, historic coins or complete cutlery sets can be worth more than their metal. Before melting, it is worth checking the collector market or getting an appraisal. Only scrap silver, single items or damaged pieces should be sold at melt value without further thought.
Taxes
For private sales in Germany, § 23 EStG applies just as for gold: after a holding period of more than one year, the gain is tax-free. For inherited silver the deceased's holding period counts, so tax practically never matters for old family pieces.
Conclusion
Valuing silver is simple once you know the hallmark, weight and price. Weigh knives separately, check whether pieces are merely plated, and expect a higher discount than for gold. Gold and silver can be entered together in the gold value calculator, so you see the total value of your collection at a glance.