Silver Purity Marks — How Value Is Calculated
Silver value is calculated as: weight in troy oz × spot price × purity. The first thing we do at appraisal is identify your piece's purity mark. At spot silver ~$33/oz, a single troy oz of pure silver is worth about $33.
| Mark / Grade | Purity | Common Sources | How to Calculate |
|---|---|---|---|
| .999 Fine Silver | 99.9% | Bullion bars, American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, modern silver rounds | Weight (oz) × spot price × 0.999 |
| .925 Sterling Silver | 92.5% | Flatware, hollowware, jewelry, decorative pieces marked 'Sterling' or '925' | Weight (oz) × spot price × 0.925 |
| .900 Coin Silver | 90% | Pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, half-dollars, Morgan Dollars, Peace Dollars | Weight (oz) × spot price × 0.900 |
| .800 Silver | 80% | European silverware (often German, Scandinavian), some Latin American pieces, vintage flatware | Weight (oz) × spot price × 0.800 |
| Silver-Plated | Trace | Items marked 'EPNS', 'Silver Plate', 'Sheffield Plate', or no silver marking | No significant silver value — base metal only |
Sterling vs. silver-plated — the critical distinction:Sterling silver is .925 pure silver throughout the piece and has real intrinsic value. Silver-plated items (marked EPNS, "Silver Plate," or "Sheffield") have only a thin silver coating over base metal and have no meaningful value to a silver buyer. If your item is not marked "Sterling", "925", or with a purity percentage, it is likely plated.
Silver Items We Buy in Miami
| Category | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Coins | American Silver Eagles, Morgan Dollars, Peace Dollars, pre-1965 junk silver, Canadian Maple Leafs, Mexican Libertads, foreign silver coins | Bullion at melt. Collectible dates assessed for numismatic premium. |
| Silver Bars | PAMP Suisse, Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, SilverTowne, generic .999 bars (1 oz, 10 oz, 100 oz) | Branded bars with assay card receive offers closest to spot. |
| Sterling Flatware | Complete sets, partial sets, individual serving pieces — Gorham, Tiffany, Reed & Barton, Oneida Sterling, Lunt, International | Weighed and calculated at .925. Branded or antique sets may have additional value. |
| Sterling Jewelry | .925 marked rings, chains, bracelets, brooches, earrings. Mexican silver jewelry often marked .925 or .950. | Priced at metal content plus small premium for wearable pieces. |
| Silver Hollowware | Tea sets, candlesticks, trays, bowls, pitchers marked Sterling or .925 | Heavier pieces yield significant metal value. Weighted pieces (hollow with lead base) are calculated at filled metal weight. |
| Vintage Sterling | Antique American and European sterling, coin silver pieces (pre-1870 U.S.), Tiffany & Co. sterling antiques | Antique and maker's mark premiums possible. Assessed for both melt and collector value. |
Selling Sterling Silver Flatware — What to Know
Sterling flatware is one of the most common silver items sold in Miami — inherited sets that no longer match a modern home. Here's how the math works and what affects your offer.
Weigh the entire set in troy ounces (1 troy oz = 31.1g). Multiply by spot silver (~$33/oz) × 0.925 purity × your expected payout percentage (typically 80–90% of melt at a specialist buyer). Example: 40 troy oz of sterling flatware = 40 × $33 × 0.925 = $1,221 melt value. A 85% payout = ~$1,038.
Tiffany & Co. sterling, Gorham Chantilly, Reed & Barton Francis I, and other iconic patterns can carry collector premiums — especially complete sets with serving pieces in excellent condition. Flatware dealers and collectors compete for these, so appraisal at a specialist can yield more than melt.
Candlesticks, tea sets, and hollowware items are sometimes 'weighted' — sterling shell over a base metal or pitch core. These are assessed only for the sterling shell weight, not total weight. XRF testing identifies this. Be cautious with unusually heavy 'sterling' pieces.
Bring the entire set including serving pieces — butter knives, ladles, serving spoons, cake servers. Partial sets are purchased, but complete sets with serving pieces fetch more. Original felt storage roll or chest adds nominal value. No need to clean or polish pieces before bringing them in.
How to Sell Silver at Iron Eagle Reserve — 4 Steps
Walk in with your silver at 174 E Flagler St, Downtown Miami. Most appraisals take 20–35 minutes.
Open Mon–Sat 9AM–8PM. Bring silver in any condition — loose pieces, boxed flatware sets, coin rolls, or bars. We handle collections of any size.
Each piece is examined for purity marks. Unmarked items are tested with our XRF spectrometer — a non-destructive handheld device that reads metal composition in seconds. Sterling and silver-plated items are separated. Coins are identified by date, type, and grade.
Sterling pieces are weighed on calibrated scales in troy ounces. Spot price is pulled live. The offer is calculated transparently: weight × purity × spot × payout percentage — shown to you in full.
Accept the offer and walk out with cash. No hold times, no 'we need to send this out for testing.' Everything is done on-site in one visit.
Sterling Flatware · Silver Coins · Silver Bars · Sterling Jewelry
Frequently Asked Questions
Iron Eagle Reserve at 174 E Flagler St, Downtown Miami, buys silver in all forms — coins, bars, sterling flatware, sterling jewelry, and silver-content items. Walk in Mon–Sat 9AM–8PM. Purity tested on-site, cash paid same visit.
Sterling flatware (.925 purity) is worth its silver content by weight. At current spot silver (~$33/oz), a typical 12-piece sterling set weighing ~30 troy oz contains about 27.75 oz of pure silver, worth roughly $850–$950 at spot. Branded sets from Gorham, Tiffany, or Reed & Barton may carry additional collector value.
Sterling silver is .925 pure silver throughout the piece. Silver-plated items have only a thin silver coating over base metal and have essentially no silver value. Items marked 'Sterling' or '925' are solid silver. Items marked 'EPNS', 'Silver Plate', or 'Sheffield' are plated.
Yes. Pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, and half-dollars contain 90% silver. At current prices, $1 face value in 90% silver coins contains about 0.715 troy oz of pure silver. We buy by face value, weight, or bag.
Yes. We purchase silver bars from major refiners — PAMP Suisse, Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, SilverTowne, and others — in sizes from 1 oz to 100 oz. Bars with original assay cards receive offers closest to spot.