Scrap Silver Calculator — Melt Value by Purity
Find out how much your silver is worth at today's spot price. Enter the weight in grams, the hallmark purity (sterling 92.5%, fine 99.9%, coin 90%, etc.), the current silver spot price per troy ounce, and the dealer buyback percentage to get the melt value and expected payout.
g
Silver purity
%
USD / troy oz
%
Estimated dealer payout at the buyback rate
92.5%
silverPure silver
92.5%
Other metals
7.5%
- 1
Silver purity fraction
92.5% ÷ 100 = 0.925 - 2
Pure silver content
50 g × 0.925 = 46.25 g - 3
Spot price per gram
$28 ÷ 31.1035 g/oz = $0.9002 - 4
Melt value
46.25 g × $0.9002 = $41.64 - 5
Scrap value
$41.64 × 80% ÷ 100 = 33.31
How does this calculator work?
Melt value = weight(g) × (purity/100) × (spot/31.1035). For 50 g of sterling silver (92.5%) at USD 28/oz: pure silver = 46.25 g, spot/g ≈ USD 0.90, melt value ≈ USD 41.58. Dealers pay ~60–85% of that. Enter a buyback % to see the realistic payout.
Formula
How this is calculated
Silver items carry a hallmark indicating purity: 999 (99.9% fine silver), 925 (sterling, 92.5%), 900 (coin silver, 90%), 800 (European silver), and so on. Dividing the hallmark by 1000 — or the percentage by 100 — gives the decimal purity fraction. Multiplying by the item's weight in grams gives the pure silver content in grams.
The silver spot price per troy ounce is divided by 31.1035 (grams per troy ounce) to get the price per gram of pure silver. Multiplying by the pure silver content gives the theoretical melt value: what the silver would be worth if it were refined and sold as 999 bullion.
Dealers who buy scrap silver typically pay 60–85% of melt value to cover refining costs, overhead, and profit. Enter the dealer's buyback percentage (or 100% to see the full theoretical value). Silver spot prices fluctuate constantly during trading hours; always verify the current price from a live source such as kitco.com before selling.
Frequently asked questions
Sterling silver is marked 925, .925, or "Sterling" on the piece — usually stamped inside rings, on the back of cutlery handles, or near clasps. British hallmarked pieces may show a lion passant alongside the 925 mark. Unmarked items should be tested by a jeweller before assuming any purity.
Silver has a much lower spot price per troy ounce than gold (typically 60–100× cheaper). A 50 g sterling piece contains about 46.25 g of pure silver worth a fraction of what the same mass of gold would fetch. Silver also attracts lower dealer buyback percentages than gold in some markets.
Yes. Many historical coins are 90% silver (e.g. US dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted before 1965) or 80% (e.g. pre-1968 Canadian coins). Enter the coin's total weight in grams and select or enter the correct purity percentage. Do not use face value — use the actual silver content weight.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Scrap Silver Calculator — Melt Value by Purity [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/scrap-silver-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Scrap Silver Calculator — Melt Value by Purity." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/scrap-silver-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Scrap Silver Calculator — Melt Value by Purity," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/scrap-silver-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_scrap_silver_calculator, title = {Scrap Silver Calculator — Melt Value by Purity}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/scrap-silver-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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