What is silverplate actually worth?

First, what silverplate is

Silverplate is a piece made of base metal, usually nickel silver or Britannia metal, with a thin layer of pure silver bonded to the surface by electroplating. The technique became commercially widespread in the 1840s and made "silver" service affordable for ordinary households. That is why nearly every Canadian family has some: the boxed flatware set from a 1950s wedding, the tea service on the sideboard, the tray that only came out at Christmas.

The key word is thin. A typical plated fork carries a surface layer of silver measured in microns, over a body of nickel, copper and zinc. The heavier grades, sold as triple and quadruple plate, carry meaningfully more silver than the standard grades did, which is why some plated pieces feel and are better than others. What none of them carry is enough silver to be worth recovering one piece at a time, and that is exactly why plate is bought by the pound instead of being quoted per item.

Why most buyers refuse it entirely

Gold buyers and coin shops price things per gram of precious metal. Silverplate fails that math: you cannot weigh a plated tray and multiply by a silver price, because almost none of the weight is silver. Recovering the thin layer takes industrial-scale refining, and it only pays when plate is processed by the tonne. A retail counter cannot do that, so the retail answer across Canada is a flat "we do not accept silverplate." Check any major Canadian buyer's website and you will find that refusal in writing.

The result: truckloads of perfectly recyclable metal go to thrift shops and landfills every year, and families are told their chest "is worth nothing" when the truthful statement is "it is worth a modest, honest amount to the right facility."

So what is it worth?

Three tiers, in plain language:

• As silver: almost nothing. The recoverable silver in a household lot of plate is small. Anyone quoting your plate "per gram like sterling" is not being straight with you.
• As recyclable material: a modest flat rate per pound. This is the honest basis for pricing plate. We pay $10.00 per pound for silver plated flatware, $7.00 per pound for silver plated holloware, and $3.50 per pound for silver plated knives (non-magnetic handle), published on our rates page. Knives have their own rate because most of a knife's weight is its blade and filler, not plate.
• As antiques: occasionally real money, for the right pieces. Early Sheffield plate, unusual Victorian figural pieces, railway and hotel silver with collectible markings, and complete high-grade services can be worth more to collectors than to the refinery. We are a metal value buyer, and although items can be returned at your shipping cost, the cheaper check happens before you ship: email photos of anything like this to contact@silverplatecanada.ca and we will say plainly whether it belongs at a dealer or auction instead of in the box.

The real reason to send the plate box anyway

Here is what estate lots teach, year after year: mixed boxes are never all plate. Sterling serving pieces get put away in plated chests. A solid silver christening mug hides among the plated trophies. Sterling salt spoons ride along in a plated canteen. Households mixed these pieces for a century, and heirs cannot always tell them apart, because the whole point of plate was to look like sterling.

When your box arrives, every piece is checked individually, on camera. Plate is paid on the per-pound basis; anything solid is quoted to you separately in writing at the sterling rate, which is many times the plate rate for the same weight. The families who "just cleared out the plate" are regularly the ones whose itemized receipt contains a happy surprise on line 14.

How to check your own pieces first

Want the number rather than the explanation? Our what is my silver worth page shows every mark as a picture and adds up your weights at the published prices.

Flip each piece and read the marks. EP, EPNS, EPBM, A1, "Community Plate", "1847 Rogers Bros.", "Wm Rogers" and friends mean plate. STERLING, 925 or a walking-lion hallmark mean solid. The full mark lists are on the silverplate page and in the companion guide, sterling vs silverplate. Worn, unreadable or missing marks? Do not guess and do not polish; email photos to contact@silverplatecanada.ca and we will tell you honestly what you have before you ship.