Is silver plate worth anything?
Yes. Silver plated flatware is worth $10.00 per lb at our published rate, plated holloware $7.50 and plated knives $3.50. A drawer of plated cutlery usually comes to tens of dollars, not hundreds. It is not worthless, and it is not a windfall. Here is the arithmetic, so you can work out your own.
Why you keep reading that it is worthless
Ask online and most answers say silver plate is worth nothing. That answer is half right. It is worth nothing to the sort of buyer most people ask.
A coin shop or a gold buyer prices things per gram of precious metal, and silver plate fails that sum. A plated fork is nickel silver, copper and zinc under a silver layer measured in microns, so almost none of the weight in your hand is silver. Getting that layer back means shredding, melting and refining, which only pays at scale. A shop handling your chest piece by piece would spend more on the handling than the silver is worth, so it says no.
We work in volume and send the metal on for recovery, so plate is ordinary stock here. That is the whole difference. Your plate is not secretly valuable. There is simply somewhere to take it.
Want the number instead of the explanation? The calculator on our homepage adds up your own weights at the rates below.
What we pay
These are flat published rates. They do not move from one day to the next and they are the same for everyone. Solid silver and gold are different: they are priced based off weight against the live metal market, so no figure printed here would still be true tomorrow.
| Item | We pay (CAD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silver plated flatware (forks, spoons, serving pieces) | $10.00/lb | Flat rate, published |
| Silver plated holloware (teapots, trays, bowls, candlesticks) | $7.50/lb | Flat rate, published |
| Silver plated knives, non-magnetic handle | $3.50/lb | Most of a knife's weight is blade and handle filler, not plate |
| Marked pewter | $10.00/lb | Almost always marked, unless very old |
| Brass and bronze | $2.50/lb | Flat rate, published |
| Copper-nickel | $2.50/lb | Flat rate, published |
| Sterling and 925, 900 and 800 silver | Live rate, on weight | Follows the metal market. Yours is confirmed in writing when your parcel is weighed |
| Gold, 10K to 24K | Live rate, on weight | Priced by karat, and tested rather than taken from the stamp |
| Anything magnetic (iron, steel) | No value | Already in the box? We recycle it at no charge. Just do not pay to ship a box of it |
There is 1 fee on the settlement itself, published: settlements under $250 carry a $25 processing fee, and $250 or more carries none. It is charged per settlement, so 1 shipment beats 2 small ones. See the full rates page →
What a real drawer comes to
The weights below are examples, not promises. We have not weighed your set. The only weight that counts is the one on our scale, with the parcel open on camera. Copy the arithmetic, not the figures.
Example 1. The flatware drawer.
A boxed set, 60 plated pieces, knives set aside. Call it 6 lb.
6 lb x $10.00 = $60.00
The 12 knives from the same set, handles not magnetic. Call it 2 lb.
2 lb x $3.50 = $7.00
Drawer total: $67.00
Example 2. The tea set.
Teapot, coffee pot, sugar bowl and creamer, 4 pieces of plated holloware. Call it 7 lb.
7 lb x $7.50 = $52.50
Example 3. The tray.
1 large plated serving tray. Call it 5 lb.
5 lb x $7.50 = $37.50
All 3 together: $67.00 + $52.50 + $37.50 = $157.00. That is under $250, so the $25 processing fee applies and the settlement is $132.00.
Add the second chest from the basement, another 10 lb of plated flatware. That is $100.00, the total becomes $257.00, and the lot clears the $250 line, so the fee no longer applies.
The honest shape of it: a household lot of plate is usually worth tens of dollars to a few hundred. Anyone quoting plate per gram like sterling is not being straight with you.
How to tell what you have in 30 seconds
1. Run a magnet over everything. A fridge magnet will do. Anything it grabs firmly is steel and carries no value. Silver plate over nickel silver is not magnetic, and neither is sterling. The 1 exception is knife handles: our $3.50 rate covers knives whose handle is not magnetic. A steel-handled knife earns nothing, though we recycle it at no charge.
2. Find the mark. On flatware it sits on the back of the handle near the stem. On holloware it is on the underside, near the rim or under the foot. Take it to a window: these marks are small, shallow and often worn flat.
3. Read the mark.
- Plate. EP, EPNS, EPBM, A1, "triple plate", "quadruple plate", "silver on copper", and maker names such as Community, Wm Rogers and 1847 Rogers Bros.
- Solid silver. STERLING, 925, 900, 800, or a walking lion. Paid at the live rate on weight, many times the plate rate. Do not write 800 off as plate: 800 is solid.
- Pewter. Usually marked "pewter".
- No mark, or one you cannot read. Do not guess and do not polish. Email a photo to [email protected], or check the mark lists on our silverplate page and in sterling vs silverplate.
This matters more than it sounds. Plated chests routinely hold a few solid pieces, because the whole point of plate was to look like sterling. Every piece is checked on its own, so a sorting mistake costs you nothing.
What lowers a payout
None of this is sprung on you. Every deduction shows on the itemized receipt, line by line.
- Weighted and cement-filled bases. Most candlesticks, and some trophies and vases, are a thin metal shell packed with plaster, pitch or cement. That filler is not metal and is not paid for. The piece is priced on the metal we can recover, which is why a heavy candlestick can pay less than a light tray.
- Knives. A knife is mostly blade and handle filler, not the plated surface you are selling. That is why knives sit at $3.50 rather than the $10.00 flatware rate, and why it is worth bagging them separately so you can check the line on your receipt.
- Magnetic handles and steel blades. No value. Recycled at no charge.
- Glass, wood, felt and plastic. Glass liners, wooden handles, felt pads under tray feet. None of it is metal and none of it is paid for.
- Polish. Do not. Polishing lifts a little silver off with the tarnish and makes no difference to what you are paid.
What to do next: the 3 ways to sell
- Send it. Request a discounted prepaid shipping label, print it and send the box. Labels are tracked. They carry no declared value, so if that matters to you, bring the solid silver and gold in yourself. The label cost comes off your payment.
- We collect it. Within about a 2 hour drive of Mississauga we pick up any amount. Enter your address to see the fee before you book. It comes off your payment.
- Bring it in. Book a drop-off time at 2687 Slough St, Mississauga, and a team member will be waiting for you.
Whichever route you pick, the rest is the same. Every parcel is opened on video. As part of our anti-money-laundering (FINTRAC) compliance program, we ask every seller for photo ID. Each category is weighed and paid at the published rate, with an itemized receipt showing every weight, rate and dollar. Payment is by Interac e-Transfer. Everything is held unmelted for 30 clear days before processing, and items you want back are returned at your shipping cost, which we tell you in writing first.
We buy for metal value only. We melt and shred. We are not an appraiser and we never give an appraisal. Collectors, antique dealers and auction rooms exist and buy some pieces whole. If you think a piece belongs there, sell it there first. Not sure? Send a photo and we will say plainly what it looks like.
Questions people ask before they decide
Is silver plate worth anything, honestly?
Yes, on weight, at a flat published rate. Plated flatware is $10.00 per lb, holloware $7.50 and knives with a non-magnetic handle $3.50. A household lot is usually tens of dollars to a few hundred. Settlements under $250 carry a $25 processing fee; $250 or more, no fee.
Why will some buyers not take silver plate at all?
They price per gram of precious metal, and almost none of a plated piece is silver. Getting the surface layer back means shredding, melting and refining, which only pays at scale. We work in volume and send the metal on for recovery, so we can post a rate.
How much silver is actually in a plated fork?
Not enough to quote piece by piece. The layer is measured in microns and varies with the grade of plating and how worn the piece is, so there is no single honest number to publish. That is why plate is paid at a flat rate on weight.
Do I need to clean, polish or sort it first?
No. Please do not polish: it takes a little silver off with the tarnish and changes nothing about what you are paid. You do not need to sort by metal either. Put it in 1 box and every piece is sorted, weighed and tested on camera.
What if some of the box turns out to be sterling or gold?
It is paid at the rate for that metal, worked out on weight against the live metal market, and shows as its own line on your receipt. Sterling pays many times the plate rate for the same weight. Gold is priced by karat, 10K to 24K. Your figure is confirmed in writing when the parcel is weighed.
Short version: silver plate is worth a flat published rate on weight, plus the real chance the box holds solid silver that pays at the live rate.