Are silver rings valuable??

[slingshot]

When I first saw what I found with my Ace, I wasn't that excited because the stones were too big. Then I saw .925 on the inside. Does it have value?

 

[surfman]

Sure it does just not that much. More than brass.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Sure it does just not that much. More than brass.

Ha, that's a funny way of putting it If a silver dime currently has ~ $1.00 in silver intrinsic spot melt value, then a brass slug of the same size would have a few cents of brass . Recyclable metal values for brass and copper are actually good enough that thieves steel brass fixtures, plumbing, wiring, etc... from construction sites, industrial yards, etc.... But silver is still significantly higher spot melt value. Doh!

.925 is 925% pure. And USA silver coins are 90% pure (roughly equal). Given that even the chunkiest silver ring probably still only weighs as much as a silver quarter, that means you're looking at somewhere between $1 value, to $2.50-ish value, for silver rings.

And some silver-buyers don't even want to mess with them. Because there's prolific mis-stamping. Where they might be stamped .925, yet are only .80, etc.... Then the hassle of enamels, worthless stones, etc.... in/on them. Coins are much easier for the buy/sell/trade of melt business.

 

[chuck ky]

I had a buyer tell me that they would buy silver coins because they can easily sell them but silver jewelry wasn't worth the trouble.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

This morning market report says that sterling silver scrap value is 44 cents per gram. One is better off selling those sterling rings at a yard sale. One can do much better than scrap value when you have a willing purchaser.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I had a buyer tell me that they would buy silver coins because they can easily sell them but silver jewelry wasn't worth the trouble.

Correct. The only way to circumvent this, is to sell to the actual end-buyer (top-of-the-chain) places that are actually melting and refining the stuff. Because only then does the pure silver content come out. And all the other useless stuff (cheap stones, enamel, and variations of purity) get assayed out.

Contrast to silver coins, and they're consistent all the time. An exception might be the wear factor on silver coins: It's possible that a boatload of very worn mercs and barbers, would have a different weight than a boatload of crisp fresh mercs and barbers. But that discrepancy is simply absorbed in the overhead spread of their buy-sell margins.

I talked to a local buy/sell trade place in my city, who no longer accepted silver jewelry. When I asked why, he said that in a prior purchase, he had actually gotten a bunch that turned out not even to be silver. Oh sure, he could take the time and file and test each one with acid test or whatever. But for a dollar each for silly little charms, rings, earings, nick-nacks, etc... it simply wasn't worth the time. Contrast to coins, and you can quickly count out 100 coins, and pay out on a per-dollar or scale basis.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Yes. If you could sell them to persons who intend to actually wear them, you'd get a better price. But seriously now, do silver rings really sell at yard sales and flea markets ? To make it worth the time to haggle, etc... ?

 

[slingshot]

OK. My thinking was that I had read somewhere that some silver rings DO have real stones, and this is the first one I've found so heavy and beautifully designed with small stones in the intricate lacings on the sides. Thanks everyone

 

[RichW]

They certainly do. They sell like crazy at flea markets and they sell for much more than their melt value if they are in good shape.

 

[Tom Slick]

Sell my silver rings in my antique booth at the local antique mall. Usually get between $7.50 - $35.00 each. Waaaaaaaay better than melt value.