This is the third in our series of articles regarding the appraisal of silver pieces. We recommend that you read the first two:
We also recommend these articles that talk about the value of sterling (and silver plate) pieces:
- What's the value of my sterling flatware?
- Things to consider when selling your sterling flatware
- What's the value of my silver plate flatware?
If you have special pieces that you think are quite valuable, we recommend the services of a qualified appraiser. However, you may just want a "ballpark" estimate for the time being. Or, you may think the fee an appraiser would charge is too much for your purposes.
If you have a set of sterling flatware that is reasonably popular, you might be able to calculate a rough estimate of value on your own. The folks at Replacements Ltd have done us all a great service by creating an extensive data base describing pieces they have for sale. For rough estimating purposes, start there: www.Replacements.com.
Find the web page that has your sterling flatware pattern on it by clicking on the "Silver" tab, then selecting the first letter of the sterling manufacturer's name. Find your pattern among those listed for your manufacturer. Some listings can be quite confusing so study the list carefully. It may have different entries for "old marks" vs "new marks", "monogrammed" vs "no monograms", etc. for example.
Once you narrow down your specific pattern description, click on the entry. You should see a list of pieces that Replacements has in stock for your pattern. Compare your pieces with those in the list. Take care to compare lengths. Total up the prices that Replacements would charge for your set. Let's call that number the "Replacements value".
If you are trying to determine a value for insurance purposes, the Replacements value might be what you want.
If you are trying to figure out how much you could get for your set if you sold it, here's a procedure to consider:
- Multiply the Replacements value by 60%. If you can sell to an individual who wants your set for personal use, that buyer is probably willing to pay the highest price and might pay somewhere near the price you just calculated (the 60% price).
- Multiply the Replacements value by 25%. If you have to sell to a dealer, the price you get will be somewhere near here (the 25% price).
If you have to sell your set to a scrap metal dealer, expect less than the 25% price.
Note that none of these prices are close to the current retail prices of your pattern. Even if your pieces are still in their unopened plastic bags, you might get a little bit more than what we calculated above but not as much as you would hope for.
Remember that this is just a ballpark estimate. For "dud" patterns, the prices you calculate may be too high. On the other hand, for some rare patterns or those where there are not many aftermarket pieces available, the prices may be too low. Another benchmark is to see what the prices have been on eBay recently for your pattern. Here's an article that describes the process of locating actual sales on eBay:
Comments are very welcome on this subject. If you have better information, let us hear about it.
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