Sterling Silver (.925) Scrap Calculator — UK Live Spot Value
Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver — the standard for UK jewellery, cutlery, candlesticks and most decorative silverware. This page tells you exactly what your silver is worth at today's spot price, with a live UK calculator and the formula behind it.
Live sterling silver (.925) calculator
Live silver spot: loading… per troy ounce. Sterling per gram: —.
Got a mixed lot? Use the full Spot Bot calculator for multiple items and history.
What is sterling silver?
Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper (or occasionally zinc, germanium or platinum). The copper gives the alloy enough rigidity for cutlery, jewellery and serving pieces — pure silver is too soft for daily use.
The UK hallmark is the lion passant (a walking lion in profile) — by law every piece of sterling silver weighing over 7.78g sold in the UK must carry this mark. Modern pieces also carry a "925" stamp.
The formula for sterling silver value
The maths is identical to gold, just with silver's spot price and 0.925 purity:
.925 value/g = (silver_spot_per_oz ÷ 31.1034768) × 0.925
If silver spot is £25.00/oz:
- Fine silver per gram: £25.00 ÷ 31.1035 = £0.804/g
- Sterling per gram: £0.804 × 0.925 = £0.744/g
- Value of a 100g sterling chain: 100 × £0.744 = £74.36
Sterling silver vs other silver purities
| Silver standard | Purity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Coin silver (US) | .900 | Pre-1965 US dimes/quarters |
| Sterling silver | .925 | UK standard for jewellery & flatware |
| Britannia silver | .958 | UK premium hallmark, rare in modern use |
| Fine silver | .999+ | Investment bullion — bars, Britannias, Maples |
What dealers pay for sterling silver scrap
Silver scrap pays a smaller percentage of spot than gold — silver is bulkier and refining is proportionally more work:
- Refiners and specialist silver buyers: 80–90% of melt (best for >500g lots)
- Bullion dealers buying back: 80–88%
- Jewellers and pawnbrokers: 60–80%
- Cash-for-silver high-street: 40–65%
Sterling silver flatware, candlesticks and tea services often have higher resale value than melt — especially Georgian, Victorian or Art Deco pieces from named makers (Garrard, Mappin & Webb, Walker & Hall, Asprey). Always check with an antiques dealer or auction house before scrapping anything with provenance or age.
British silver hallmarks — quick guide
UK silver hallmarks are detailed but consistent. Look for:
- Lion passant — guaranteed sterling (.925)
- Britannia figure — guaranteed Britannia silver (.958)
- Assay office mark — anchor (Birmingham), leopard's head (London), crown (Sheffield), castle (Edinburgh)
- Date letter — single letter telling you the year of assay (cycle of 25 letters, different style per cycle)
- Maker's mark — usually 2–3 initials in a shaped border
If a "silver" piece has no hallmark at all, it might be silver-plated (a thin silver coating over base metal) — that has essentially no scrap value.
Tracking silver holdings
The Spot Bot portfolio tracker supports any silver purity (.800, .900, .925 sterling, .958 Britannia, .999 fine) with per-item value tracking, premium-paid records and per-purity historical charts so you can see how sterling has moved relative to spot.