Send the whole estate box. We sort it on camera.
Nobody else in Canada takes mixed estate lots by mail. We do: sterling next to silverplate next to a coin tin, all in one box. We sort it on camera, pay each published category at its published rate, and itemize everything on one receipt. Any silver coins, gold, dental gold or bullion in the box is quoted in writing first.
Built for executors and downsizing families
When you are clearing a house, the metals drawer is the one job with no good answer. The jeweller only wants the gold. The coin shop only wants the coins. Nobody wants the silverplate chest, and every stop is a separate trip, a separate quote, a separate stranger.
Our answer: one box, one itemized receipt, one payment.
- Everything is sorted on camera, from the sealed box to the scale. The video record protects you and any co-heirs.
- Every published category is paid at its published price: silverplate on the pound basis, pewter and brass at their posted pound prices. Sterling silver, coins and gold are quoted to you in writing before anything is processed.
- Silver coins, gold, dental gold and bullion are the exception: they are set aside on camera and quoted in writing, with clearly rare coin dates priced individually in the quote. Nothing in those categories is processed until you approve the quote.
- The itemized receipt gives executors a clean paper record for the estate file: every category, every weight, every rate, every dollar on one document.
Before you box anything: the two rules
Rule one: keep the pieces with stories. No payout replaces the christening mug or the ring your parent actually wore. Walk the family through first and pull out what anyone genuinely wants.
Rule two: when in doubt, leave it out. Items can come back if you change your mind, but at your shipping cost. If anyone in the family is unsure about a piece, keep it home and email photos to contact@silverplatecanada.ca: we will tell you honestly what it is, what it is worth sending, and when the better answer is an auction house. That advice is free and it comes before you ship, when it can still change your mind.
Do not polish the lot, and sort with the marks, not by looks. Polishing strips silver and can destroy collectible value. Families reliably mis-sort sterling into the plate pile, because plate was designed to look like sterling. If the marks confuse you, photos to contact@silverplatecanada.ca settle it before anything ships. Our sterling vs silverplate guide walks through every mark.
What to put in the box
Everything the family has decided to sell: flatware chests, the tea service, the plated trays, coin tins and folders, sterling jewellery. Silver coins, gold, dental gold and bullion can ride in the same box; they are simply quoted in writing before anything happens to them.
What NOT to send
- Documents, photographs and keepsakes with no metal value: keep those safe at home.
- Anything anyone in the family is still unsure about. The decision to sell happens before you ship, not after.
A note on larger estates
Tell us roughly what you have when you request your label, or email contact@silverplatecanada.ca. You can also call (416) 799-7528. For larger single transactions, Canadian anti-money-laundering rules can require us to verify your identity; we handle that with standard remote ID checks, quickly and privately, and a buyer who shrugs at that requirement is a red flag.
Estate professionals: executors' lawyers, estate liquidators, auction houses and senior move managers handle scrap-grade metals constantly. If that is you, ask about trade terms and our disclosed referral program: (416) 799-7528.
More reading: the executor's page and how to sell inherited silver without regrets.