Introduction
This sterling silver calculator tells you how much your silver is worth based on its weight, purity, and the current spot price. Whether you have old jewelry, coins, or scrap silver, you can use this tool to find the silver melt value in seconds. Just enter your item's weight, pick a purity like .925 sterling or .999 fine, and the calculator does the rest. It shows you the full melt value, what a dealer might pay (bid), and what a dealer might charge (ask). It also breaks down the math step by step so you can see exactly how the number is reached. If you have multiple pieces of mixed-purity scrap, our scrap silver calculator can help you value an entire lot at once.
The calculator pulls a live silver spot price and supports over 30 currencies, so you get results that reflect real market prices no matter where you are. Need to convert between currencies on the fly? Our currency calculator can help with that too. You can enter weight in grams, troy ounces, pennyweight, pounds, or other common units. If your silver has a purity not listed, use the custom option to type in any percentage. There is also an advanced setting for fabrication loss, which accounts for the small amount of silver lost during melting or refining.
How to Use Our Sterling Silver Calculator
Enter your silver item's weight, purity, and spot price below. The calculator will show you the melt value, dealer bid and ask prices, and a full weight conversion table.
Item Name: Type a name for your silver item. This is optional. It helps you keep track if you check more than one piece.
Weight: Enter the weight of your silver item. Use a kitchen scale or jeweler's scale to get an accurate number. If you are weighing a metal object and need help determining its mass from dimensions, a metal weight calculator can estimate weight based on the type and size of the metal.
Unit of Measure: Pick the unit that matches your scale. You can choose grams, kilograms, grains, pennyweight, ounces, troy ounces, pounds, or troy pounds.
Silver Purity: Select the purity of your silver. Most silver jewelry is .925 sterling. If your piece has a different purity, click "Custom" and type in the exact percentage.
Spot Price: The calculator pulls the live silver spot price automatically. If you want to use a different price, type it in and the tool will switch to manual mode. If you also own gold, you can check its current value with our gold price calculator.
Currency: Choose your currency from the dropdown list. The spot price and all results will update to match the currency you pick.
Dealer Spread: Enter the percentage a dealer adds or subtracts from the melt value. The default is 5%. This gives you a dealer bid (what they pay you) and a dealer ask (what they charge you). You can use a percent change calculator to see how different spread levels affect your payout.
Fabrication Loss: Click "Advanced Options" to open this field. Enter a percentage if you want to account for silver lost during melting or refining. Most people can leave this at zero.
Press the Calculate button to see your results. Press Reset to clear all fields and start over.
What Is Sterling Silver and How Is Its Melt Value Calculated?
Sterling silver is a metal alloy made of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The copper makes it stronger and harder than pure silver, which is too soft for most everyday items. Sterling silver is the standard used in jewelry, flatware, tea sets, and many decorative pieces. If you see a ".925" stamp on an item, that means it is sterling silver.
How Silver Melt Value Works
The melt value of a silver item is how much the raw silver inside it is worth if you melted it down. It is based on three things: the weight of the item, the purity of the silver, and the current silver spot price. The spot price is the live market price for one troy ounce of pure silver. A troy ounce weighs about 31.1 grams, which is slightly heavier than a regular ounce.
To find the melt value, you first figure out how much pure silver is in the item. You do this by multiplying the total weight by the purity. For example, if a bracelet weighs 15 grams and is .925 sterling silver, it contains 13.875 grams of pure silver. You then convert that weight to troy ounces and multiply by the spot price.
Common Silver Purities
Not all silver items are sterling. Fine silver is .999, or 99.9% pure, and is used for bullion bars and coins meant for investing. If you are building a precious metals portfolio, an investment calculator can help you project long-term growth. Britannia silver is .958 pure and comes from a British standard. Coin silver is .900 pure and was used in older U.S. coins. European silver is often .800 pure, and some low-grade items are only .400 pure. Each purity level changes how much silver is actually in the item, which directly changes the melt value.
Dealer Spread and What You Actually Get Paid
If you sell silver to a dealer, you will not get the full melt value. Dealers buy below melt value and sell above it. The difference is called the spread. A typical spread is around 5%, but it can vary. The dealer bid is the price they offer to buy from you, and the dealer ask is the price they charge to sell to you.
Knowing your silver's melt value before you visit a dealer helps you negotiate a fair price. It also helps you decide whether selling is worth it or if you should hold onto your silver and wait for a higher spot price. To understand how silver's purchasing power shifts over time, our inflation calculator can show you how much today's dollar amount would be worth in past or future terms. If you want to track how much you stand to gain on a sale, try our ROI calculator to measure the return on your original purchase.