Options
What percentage of melt should be expected for sterling silver?
291fifth
Posts: 23,948 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have heard that sterling (.925 fine silver) is being discounted fairly heavily. Is this true? If it is true, why?
All glory is fleeting.
0
Comments
Dealers will tell you the discount is due to refining costs.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
That's percentage of weight x spot, not .925 factored in:
he makes 4% and that's with 5k oz at a time
weight of scrap x spot x .78 or .825 X
My guy pays 78% on jewelry, and 82.5% on flatware.
That's percentage of weight x spot, not .925 factored in:
he makes 4% and that's with 5k oz at a time
weight of scrap x spot x .78 or .825 X
The key is the 5,000 ounces at one time. When I was in the shop we accumulated sterling slowly, and probably only had enough to melt two or three times a year unless we happened to buy in a load of Franklin Mint (s)crap. A 4% profit margin is not enough to cover carrying cost and market risks if you have to sit on stuff for months.
20.50 / 31.1 = .6591 x .925 = .6097 x .90 = 5487 x .85 = .46 a gram
spot divided by 31.1 x .925 x .90(what refiner pays) x .85 = per gram price
20.50 / 31.1 = .6591 x .925 = .6097 x .90 = 5487 x .85 = .46 a gram
That's exactly what I wrote...yet seems so much more complicated. Lol
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
My figures were based on what a refinery (no names) pay me. And boy have I hated melting some of the sterling pieces over the years.