Pawn shops don’t abide by a one-size-fits-all approach to items that they will buy from customers. So if you’re wondering: “do pawn shops buy scrap silver?” the answer is, maybe. At Central Mega Pawn in Ontario, we buy scrap silver, but can’t speak for other pawn shops. Here’s everything to know about selling scrap silver to our shop.
What is Scrap Silver?
Scrap silver, also known as scrap bullion, is an informal term referring to any silver items that are only worth the value of the silver it contains. For example, a dulled, broken silver necklace is considered scrap silver. So is a single, silver fork that doesn’t match any other silverware you have. Scrap silver may include brooches, watches, jewelry, pins, medals, plaques, and much more.
Therefore, you may already have scrap silver in your home that you could turn into cash by selling it a pawn shop. Likewise, if you’re interested in trying to turn a profit, you can sometimes find scrap silver at garage sales, estate sales, or flea markets.
What is Scrap Silver Worth?
Scrap silver’s value will depend upon the current prices of silver. It also depends upon the purity and weight of the silver. In general, you need silver that is almost pure. Therefore you’ll need to find silver that is stamped with either “.950,” “.925,” or “sterling.” Unfortunately, silver-plated items won’t likely get you an offer at a pawn shop.
The purity of silver plays a major factor in the value of scrap silver you may have at your home. The purest form of silver is 99.9% pure and is represented as .999. However, 99.9% pure silver is too unstable for jewelry and flatware. That’s why in the USA, sterling silver, which is 92.5% silver is the standard. Most silver coins are less pure, typically 80-90% pure.
If you don’t see an imprint, or stamp on certain items, you can always purchase a silver testing kit. These are often sold at craft stores, or you can find one on Amazon, often for less than $20.
Though far from perfect, there are some online calculators that you can use to estimate what your scrap silver may be worth. However, it’s important to note that you’ll need to also know the weight of the item, and the current price for scrap silver. It’s probably easier to just bring it to a pawn shop once you’ve tested and confirmed that it is silver.
Selling Scrap Silver to a Pawn Shop
Pawn shops that buy scrap silver will be able to make you an offer based on the current value of the precious metal. The value of silver and gold tend to go up during times of economic uncertainty, or global unrest. This is because these precious metals are not impacted by the changing value of a dollar, so they become more valuable during economic downturns. Indeed, investors often turn to precious metals such as silver and gold, to diversify holdings during slowing economies.
Before you take your scrap silver to a pawn shop, you may want to wipe it down so that the purity imprint is visible but avoid polishing it. It’s just not necessary. You may also want to divide your scrap, into coins, flatware, collectibles or other. Pay particular attention to silver coins, as you can often find highly valuable coins and not know it, and you’ll want to make sure you get your money’s worth for it.
You’ll be in the best position to get the most money for your silver scrap, if you’ve read up on current prices, and know the total weight of the silver scrap you want to sell.
Why Sell Silver Scrap to a Pawn Shop?
Pawn shops offer convenience. Instead of tracking down a buyer online or on eBay, you can simply walk into a pawn shop (some of which are open seven days a week) with your silver. There’s no need to ship or insure anything. At a pawn shop you can also walk away easily and won’t be badgered with emails and phone calls trying to get you to reconsider.
Reputable pawnbrokers will examine and weigh the silver in front of you before making you an offer. You may also be able to negotiate for a better price at a pawn shop. If you’re trying to sell scrap silver online, this may be more difficult, as the buyer can’t see the scrap. Generally, speaking pawnshops offer prices similar to what you could expect to be offered if you took silver coins to a coin shop. But pawn shops are easier to find than coin shops these days.
Finally, consider that pawnshops may offer you more than you knew the silver was worth. Unless you’re an expert, trying to calculate the value of your scrap silver is risky at best. So even if you think you know what it is worth, be sure to let the pawn shop make you an offer first. It may turn out that you were going to ask for $100, but they offer you $175.
Sell Silver in the San Gabriel Valley
If you have silver you’d like to sell, including silver coins, silver jewelry, silver bars, silver utensils or scrap silver, Central Mega Pawn would like to make you an offer. As a longstanding, locally owned and operated pawn shop in Ontario, we’ve served the communities of Upland, Ontario, and Pomona for more than a decade. In addition to buying your silver, we also make pawn loans on silver, if you need a temporary loan to get you through a lean financial period.
We also buy and lend on gold bars, gold jewelry, gold coins, gold nuggets, and gold flake.
We’d love the opportunity to show you why Central Mega Pawn is the Inland Empire’s fastest growing pawn shop. We invite you to bring unwanted silver scrap, antiques, jewelry, sporting equipment, tools, instruments into our shop for our best offer. Central Mega Pawn is open seven days a week from 9:30 am – 6:00 pm. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Facebook.
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