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Why is sterling frowned upon?

carscars Posts: 1,904
in Precious Metals
Why is it sterling is looked down upon? I understand there would be refining costs to turn it into pure silver however 90% coins would also but it tends to be more accepted and sells better than sterling. Sure Us coins contain collectible value as well be that has basically disappeared since silver is high as it is. Seems sterling would be the better bet since its a little more pure.

Since most jewelry is made from Sterling couldn't jewelers use the sterling As is and not have to refine it? Must they start with .999 silver and add 8% copper themselves?

I don't mind sterling myself besides the fact that everyone else looks down on it. Great way to beat the premiums. It can even be had at a discount to melt many times. I've been buying Franklin mint sets with the Mini ingots made from sterling. Most gram & Fractional pieces sell for Large premiums but I can get a set of sterling ingots for $60 which contains 80+ 1-2 gram ingots. I have about 10 different sets now and purchased most at a very low price over melt. Figure they would be great in a SHTF scenario.


What are your thoughts on sterling?
Its all relative

Comments

  • carscars Posts: 1,904
    Forgot to add:

    10k-22k Gold scrap always seems to sell very well in any form. Why the double standard?
    Its all relative
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,392 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great question. I always wondered why 925 sterling silver carried a stigma when junk 900 silver coins readily trades in the marketplace.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    I don't understand it, either. Silver is silver.
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • 57loaded57loaded Posts: 4,967 ✭✭✭
    it would be a lot easier to fill up your gas tank with 90% silver than a couple of pickle forks and a serving spoon, IMHO

    it does seem like a way to get it cheap...i think you'll be sending to a smelter rather than a vehicle to barter
  • carscars Posts: 1,904
    I assume you're referring to the face value the 90% carries. I can understand that side of the argument but I'm not speaking of old utensils and serving platters but sterling bars. If they would be no good for barter why would .999 bars? They carry no face value either. Only difference is the small percentage of its purity.
    Its all relative
  • gecko109gecko109 Posts: 8,231 ✭


    << <i>Why is it sterling is looked down upon? I understand there would be refining costs to turn it into pure silver however 90% coins would also but it tends to be more accepted and sells better than sterling. Sure Us coins contain collectible value as well be that has basically disappeared since silver is high as it is. Seems sterling would be the better bet since its a little more pure.

    Since most jewelry is made from Sterling couldn't jewelers use the sterling As is and not have to refine it? Must they start with .999 silver and add 8% copper themselves?

    I don't mind sterling myself besides the fact that everyone else looks down on it. Great way to beat the premiums. It can even be had at a discount to melt many times. I've been buying Franklin mint sets with the Mini ingots made from sterling. Most gram & Fractional pieces sell for Large premiums but I can get a set of sterling ingots for $60 which contains 80+ 1-2 gram ingots. I have about 10 different sets now and purchased most at a very low price over melt. Figure they would be great in a SHTF scenario.


    What are your thoughts on sterling? >>




    For the exact same reason gold has any value at all....its a psychological thing.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,392 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Other than Franklin Mint art bars/rounds, I'm unaware of any 925 sterling silver bars. Anyone got any pics to share with us?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • Coll3ctorColl3ctor Posts: 3,314 ✭✭✭
    "For the exact same reason gold has any value at all....its a psychological thing."



    What he said ^^^^^^
  • carscars Posts: 1,904


    << <i>Other than Franklin Mint art bars/rounds, I'm unaware of any 925 sterling silver bars. Anyone got any pics to share with us? >>



    There are Tons of them. You can find Many on eBay right now from 1 gram to 100 oz+ They are normally odd weights for some reason like 10.42 ounces. Seems a lot are marked in grains, 1000 & 5000 grains are common.
    Its all relative
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,392 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Other than Franklin Mint art bars/rounds, I'm unaware of any 925 sterling silver bars. Anyone got any pics to share with us? >>



    There are Tons of them. You can find Many on eBay right now from 1 gram to 100 oz+ They are normally odd weights for some reason like 10.42 ounces. Seems a lot are marked in grains, 1000 & 5000 grains are common. >>



    I wonder if these were produced during the great silver run-up when people stood in long lines to sell their sterling silverware and teapots.

    Are there any sterling bars produced by the major refineries like Johnson-Matthey or Englehard?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • carscars Posts: 1,904
    I have 1 Sterling silver round from Johnson Matthey, Its the only design I've seen JM Produce in Sterling, It weighs 10 Gram and is marked .925 sterling. It is the top right round in this pic:
    image
    Its all relative
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,392 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I wonder if these were produced during the great silver run-up when people stood in long lines to sell their sterling silverware and teapots. >>



    I guess it would be far easier to melt scrap sterling flatware and pour your own bars than it would be to refine the scrap silver to a 999 purity. Just a thought.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It is a strange double standard, but I think you guys have answered it pretty well. It melts down to this:

    90% = US coinage. 90% seems like an arbitrary number equally as random as 92.5%. What gives it its demand are all the reasons we've talked about on this board, some of which include: face value, fractional, trusted, known weights, known purity, numismatic, etc. It is money to many people. It's the coins, it's not the silver content. If it was the 90% purity that was in demand, you'd see 90% rounds and 90% 100 oz bars.

    .999 = investment silver. It's as pure as it needs to be for good delivery on the world commodity exchanges.

    ...on the other hand...

    Sterling = end use. There is no standard unit of sterling silver--forks don't weigh 1 ounce, candle sticks don't come in kilo sizes, necklaces aren't sold 500 to a bag. Because of that, it isn't traded on any commodity exchanges. Sterling has only a few of the features of 90%, and it's missing arguably the most important: Monetization. There is demand for its end use. But in terms of a secondary market, it's essentially a one-way street: smelters will buy it, and people will sell it to them. But few people want to buy it back from smelters as 92.5%, so smelters don't sell it back to the public.

    Sterling is a one-way, end-use in the same way that 14k gold is an end use of gold. You don't buy and sell class rings on the Comex. Catalytic converters are an end use of platinum. You don't buy them from your brick & mortar. Sterling is end use for .999
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,935 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Incidentally, sterling is the standard that has been used by the UK for almost a thousand years. That's probably why it was used in that piece of lady Di and Charles.
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • DorkGirlDorkGirl Posts: 9,994 ✭✭✭
    It's not frowned upon on the Darkside...image
    Becky
  • rgCoinGuyrgCoinGuy Posts: 7,478 ✭
    I think PerryHall hit on it myself.

    The Franklin Mint left a bad taste in the mouth of collectors, and they were mostly sterling silver.
    imageQuid pro quo. Yes or no?
  • CladiatorCladiator Posts: 17,919 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Most of the sterling I've seen (not all) is in forms I consider cheesy. Cheesy enough that I'd likely not buy it even if it was .999 Get JM or Engelhard to mass produce a standard and simple bar design of sterling and you'd probably see a good market for those bars. The only sterling I currently own is my roll of 1959 Bermuda Crowns.
  • alifaxwa2alifaxwa2 Posts: 3,097 ✭✭✭
    at first glance I thought this thread was titled "Why is stealing frowned upon?"

    what a relief to have read that wrong
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