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Using Coin Silver to Make Silver Flatware

Over the years silver has been recycled and refined in a variety of ways. Even the most complicated and ornate object that is made of silver can be melted down to create something new. Silver is used over and over again. It is entirely possible that the silver in your house is made of silver that was once owned by royalty..
When you decide to sell silver, you are putting in back in the cycle again. Some people sell silver and let it go, while others decide to recycle and reuse their own silver.

For example, did you know that some people also found ways to ‘trade up’ with their silver? Even today some families have silver pieces that were handed down and bear the telltale signs that rather then recycle a large piece of silver into smaller things, sometimes people amass small pieces of silver to create something bigger.

“Coin silver” was the name given to silver flatware that was made from silver coins. This was a common practice around 200 years ago. If a family found that they needed a silver object for everyday use, such as a silver spoon or a silver teapot, they would take a bag of silver coins to a silversmith. Then they would ask the silversmith to fashion them the silver object that they desired out of these coins. The enlargement of a family through marriage or birth was an occasion to pay a visit to the silversmith. These days we can easily obtain entire sets of silver flatware with ease, but as coin silver proves, this was not always the case.

Those in the know can look at a something made of silver and spot some signs that it may have been made from silver coins. Some silversmiths were more careful that others, so it is possible that traces of the silver coin design may be evident in an object of coin silver.

You can also trade up with your silver, but you are not obliged to have silver coins, odd pieces of silver flatware or old silver jewelry made into a silver teapot. No, instead you can gather together your silver, sell it to a silver buyer and get cash for silver. Of course you need not have tons and tons of silver; you can sell a few silver objects and still reap the benefits of getting instant cash for silver.

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Cash for Silver: One of Our Favorite Things

It has never really been clear how, but “My Favorite Things,” a song from the musical The Sound of Music has somehow become part of the Christmas canon. This song manages to take what could be just a list of preferences and makes it poetic.

This song the lists some of the singer’s favorite things really could be appropriate any time of year, but many artists include it on their Christmas albums. It also gets sung during Christmas concerts as well. In the movie, The Sound of Music, it certainly is not winter when the song is sung. However, the lyrics do mention one of the hallmarks of winter (at least winter in a cold climate) and that is “silver white winters that melt into springs.”

As I am originally from a cold climate, I can tell you that the vision of “silver white” winters is much more the ideal than reality. Snow does look silver white when it first falls, but after a while, after people have been out walking around on it  and driving in it, the snow tends to loose its silver glow. Still, it does look lovely and silvery when it first falls and of course that is the part that is captured in the song.

Unlike the silver white snow that hits the ground and gets trudged upon, the silver jewelry and other silver objects you have are not likely to be walked or driven on, so they probably still have some of their original glow. When the silver white snow melts in the song, it turns into a much welcomed spring. And when you sell silver to a silver refiner, it can be melted down to bring you some very much wanted cash for silver.

There is a season for everything—there is a time for the silver white snow to be on display and a time when it has to melt. The same goes for your  old silver. There was a time when you had large dinners that required the use of a lot of silver flatware, but if those days are over, then why not sell your unused silver flatware? Or if some of your silver jewelry has already seen its best days or is no longer in style, you can sell it and get instant cash for silver. Cash is always in style and no doubt, is one of your favorite things.

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Why Polish Silver When You Can Sell It?

For some people this time of the year means not only a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Those of you who are entertaining a large number of guests, may have already had your silverware out for Thanksgiving. Of maybe you dined using someone else’s silver at Thanksgiving, but now have to pull out and examine your own silver flatware to see if it is ready to make its holiday debut.

As you know silver may become tarnished when it spends too much time exposed to air. This is especially true when silver comes into contact with air that is damp.

You can buy pre-made silver polish at the store or you can use some things you have around the house such as baking soda or toothpaste. The chemicals that are in store-bought silver polishes do get the job done, but they can be rather harsh.

Polishing silver is a lot of work. You have to spend a proper amount time cleaning each piece of silver individually. For some piece of silver, such as bowls, you have polish both the inside and the outside. And some people recommend that you polish all of your silver flatware and silver serving pieces anywhere from twice to as often as six times a year. That is a lot of time spent polishing silver. And unless you have an army of servants like they do in the movies, you (and any family members you can recruit) will have to do all of this silver polishing on your own.

Experts recommend that you cover your silver with plastic or cloth once you have cleaned it. That goes for silver flatware and silver jewelry. Polishing silver is usually at the top of anyone’s list, so once you have taken on this task, you probably don’t want to do it again.

And if you are really ready to never have to polish silver again, then you should consider that you can  sell silver flatware and silver serving pieces to a silver buyer. Those of you who are downsizing or leaving a large house to move into a smaller home or condo might not do the kind of entertaining that you used to do. If that is the case, then you will not need all of the silver flatware that you needed when you were in a larger place.

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Designing Sterling Silver Flatware

So we have looked at some of the ways that silversmiths create objects made of silver. And as was noted earlier, there was a time when people would go to a silversmith for any kind of silver object–be it decorative silver jewelry or functional silver flatware. These days, we tend to see these things as separate. Even if you were to buy silver jewelry and silver flatware at the same department store, you would have to go to separate sections to find them

The New York Times recently had an article on a man who does not see any need to make this sort of distinction. Stephen Dweck, a jewelry designer who has created templates for earrings, rings and necklaces, decided to turn his talent to designing sterling silver flatware. His designs for sterling silver flatware have a lot in common with his designs for jewelry. And when you think about it, setting a table does have an element of design to it. So it makes sense that a jewelry designer would design sterling silver flatware.

For the article, the reporter accompanied Dweck on a shopping trip where he picked up some sterling silver flatware designed by others. The designer marveled at vintage sterling silver patterns and complimented them for their artistry. Design really does make a difference. When examining a sterling silver pattern from the 1930s, Dweck observed that the pieces of sterling silver flatware had rather thin handles. But as it turns out, this may help those who want to eat less or have a leisurely meal–according to Dweck, narrow, thin handles on silver flatware mean that people will eat slower. And Dweck found inspiration by checking out silver in a range of stores. They went to Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, as well as specialty shops in SoHo.

Just as you can patronize the same place silver objects that are both functional and practical, you can also sell silver to the same place. A silver buyer who buys silver earrings and silver necklaces, will also buy silver flatware and silver coins. They are skilled in testing for the silver content in all kinds of silver objects and will give you cash for silver based on silver content. There is no need to take different kinds of silver objects to different places. You can sell all of your silver to the same silver buyer.

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Selling Silver Flatware

If you have silver flatware that you are willing to part with, you should definitely think about selling your silver to a silver buyer. But before you do that, you may want to do a little research about the market for silver. Doing this research beforehand will not only give you some idea about what to expect, but it may also prove to be very interesting. If you have a thing for trivia or are at all interested in history, getting the scoop on silver flatware can tell you things that you may not have known before. It may give you more insight into your family history or spark your imagination in some other way. Silver patterns and markings can tell a lot about the people who purchased them. Some patterns were only bought and sold in certain areas.

You can look in books or online to get information about your silver flatware. You may also be able to get some information, just by examining the silver flatware itself. You will want to get information on things like the pattern name, the country of origin, year of manufacture and the name of the manufacturer.

In addition to those basics about what kind of silver flatware you have, you will also want to know exactly what you have in your possession. Take the time to count the pieces of silver flatware you want to sell. It helps to know how many silver forks, silver spoons, silver knives, etc. you have. And don’t forget to count silver serving pieces and other silver objects like silver soup tureens or silver ladles.

You will also want to figure out exactly what kind of silver flatware you have on your hands. All silver flatware was not created equal. Some silver flatware is made of pure silver and some silver flatware is made of weighted silver. A silver buyer will give you cash for silver whether your silver flatware is made of pure or weighted silver, but you should know that these different types of silver flatware command different price points.

Plus, although many silver buyers take all kinds of silver there are some buyers of silver who do not take both pure and weighted silver. You will want to see what kind of silver flatware you have before you make plans to sell it to a silver buyer so that you will know what to expect.

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