Silver Melt Value Calculator
$59.76 per troy ounce, spot
Silver spot $59.76/oz · updated
Quick answer: Melt value is the worth of the pure silver inside a piece at the current silver price per ounce, $59.76. Pick a weight and a purity below to see it. For example, 10 grams of sterling .925 holds $17.77 of silver. Treat the result as an upper bound, not a price anyone has offered.
The calculator
Choose the unit you weighed in, type the weight, then choose the purity. The result is the silver content valued at the live price shown above. If JavaScript is switched off, the table that follows gives the same numbers for common cases.
| Weight | Fine silver 999 | Britannia 958 | Sterling 925 | Coin silver 900 | 800 silver 800 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 g | $9.60 | $9.20 | $8.89 | $8.65 | $7.69 |
| 10 g | $19.19 | $18.41 | $17.77 | $17.29 | $15.37 |
| 20 g | $38.39 | $36.81 | $35.54 | $34.58 | $30.74 |
| 50 g | $95.97 | $92.03 | $88.86 | $86.46 | $76.85 |
| 100 g | $191.94 | $184.06 | $177.72 | $172.92 | $153.71 |
| 250 g | $479.85 | $460.16 | $444.31 | $432.30 | $384.27 |
| 500 g | $959.70 | $920.32 | $888.61 | $864.60 | $768.53 |
| 1,000 g | $1,919.41 | $1,840.63 | $1,777.23 | $1,729.20 | $1,537.06 |
The calculation behind the box is two steps. First convert the weight to troy ounces, or work in grams using the silver price per gram. Then multiply by the purity fraction and by the live price. A purity of .925 means 0.925 of the weight is silver.
Worked examples, no scripts needed
| Piece | Weight | Purity | Melt value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small sterling item | 10 g | .925 | $17.77 |
| Sterling set | 100 g | .925 | $177.72 |
| Continental silver | 50 g | .800 | $76.85 |
| Fine silver | 250 g | .999 | $479.85 |
| Sterling flatware | 5 troy oz | .925 | $276.39 |
The static table updates when the page is rebuilt, and the live box re-ticks each minute, so a small difference between them is normal.
Finding the purity from stamps
Look for a number or word stamped on the piece, often small and near a maker's mark.
- .999 or "fine silver": nearly pure. Bullion bars and rounds carry it.
- .958: Britannia silver, a higher grade than sterling used in Britain.
- .925, "925" or "sterling": the common standard for jewelry and flatware. In the UK, a lion passant mark is used for sterling.
- .900: sometimes called coin silver. US dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper.
- .835 and .800: older German, Scandinavian and other continental European standards.
- .500: half silver.
A stamp is the maker's claim, so a worn or missing mark means the number is a guess. Plated items, such as silver plate, carry only a thin silver layer and often have no meaningful melt value at all.
If a piece has no stamp, you do not have enough to use the table. A reputable local jeweler or coin dealer can test it, and testing is the step to take before relying on any number.
Getting the weight right
Weigh the piece, not its packaging, and weigh it without any stones, handles or other parts that are not silver. Flatware knives, for instance, often have steel blades or filled handles, so a whole-knife weight overstates the silver.
Use a scale that reads in grams. Kitchen scales set to ounces read food ounces, not troy ounces, and the two differ by 8.9 percent. The page on troy ounce vs. ounce shows exactly how that error inflates a value. Weighing in grams sidesteps it.
If you do hold a weight in troy ounces, as with a bullion bar, you can read the value from the ounce column of the table on how much 1 oz of silver is worth.
Melt value is a ceiling, not an offer
Melt value is what the silver would be worth as pure metal at the live market price. It is a useful ceiling because it does not depend on who you ask.
It is not a price you can expect to be paid. A buyer needs to cover the cost of testing, refining or reselling, and has to make something on the deal, so offers for scrap and used pieces are normally below the figure here. How far below varies by buyer, and we publish no typical figure. Compare the gap yourself by asking two or three buyers for their offers in writing.
The reverse holds for a purchase. A retailer's price for new silver sits above spot, and silver spot price vs. retail price explains how to read the difference.
Coins sold for their collector appeal, rather than silver content, fall outside this calculator.
Selling silver? Melt value is a ceiling, not an offer: a buyer's price is normally lower, and this page cannot say by how much.
Buying instead? Start with where to buy silver Where to buy silver →
What this can't tell you
What this can't tell you: what anyone will pay for your silver, whether a stamp is genuine, or whether a piece is worth more as an antique. It shows only the value of the silver content at the live price. If you decide to buy instead, where to buy silver covers how to approach it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate silver melt value?
Convert the weight to troy ounces, multiply by the purity as a decimal, then multiply by the live price, $59.76 per troy ounce. In grams, multiply weight by purity by the gram price, $1.92. The calculator on this page does both steps automatically.
What is the melt value of sterling silver?
A gram of sterling .925 holds $1.78 of silver at today's price, and 100 grams holds $177.72. The figure covers the silver only. It leaves out any value as an antique, a design or a maker's piece.
Will a dealer pay the melt value?
Not normally. Melt value is the metal's worth at the live price, and buyers account for their costs and margin. The offer you receive depends on the buyer, the item and the day, so ask for more than one written offer.
How do I tell if a piece is sterling?
Look for .925, 925 or "sterling" stamped on it, though a stamp can be absent or wrong. For certainty, have a jeweler or dealer test the piece. Do not rely on color or weight alone.
Keep going
Rerun the numbers any time, since the live price changes through the day and the figure that was right at breakfast may not be at lunch. Today's silver spot price at the top of the home page is the number everything here is built on.
Sources and further reading
Keep reading
Data sources: Spot price via api.gold-api.com · COMEX futures (SI=F) via Yahoo Finance. Prices are for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Figures on this page were generated . Silver is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce.