How the calculation works
There is no secret in the formula and nothing that changes between customers. Four steps, all of them checkable:
(spot price per troy ounce ÷ 31.1035) × purity × weight in grams × 0.80
- Start with the live spot price. Silver trades internationally as XAG, quoted per troy ounce. We pull the live XAG/GBP rate, so the figure is already in pounds and there is no currency step to argue about. It is £— per troy ounce right now.
- Convert to grams. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, not the 28.35g of an ordinary ounce. That gives £— per gram of pure silver.
- Apply your purity. Purity is the decimal of your hallmark: 925 sterling is 0.925, 800 silver is 0.800, 999 fine is 0.999. Sterling therefore holds £— of silver in every gram.
- Apply our rate. A flat 80%, the same on every purity and every quantity. Sterling pays £— per gram.
A worked example
Take a 900g six-place canteen of sterling flatware. 900 × 0.925 = 832.5g of pure silver. At £— per gram that is £— of metal. Multiply by 0.80 and the payout is £—. Nothing is taken off that figure: no assay fee, no refining charge, no handling fee, no postage deduction.
Why 80%, and why it is flat
Spot is the price of refined, market-grade silver in bulk quantities. What arrives in a parcel is a mixed lot at several purities with stainless steel, filler and wooden handles attached. Testing it, melting it and refining it costs money, and every buyer's rate reflects that. The honest question is how much, and whether they tell you before you post.
Ours is 80% and it does not move. It does not drop for lower purities, it does not improve for larger lots, and there is no tier to negotiate into. A single spoon above the £50 minimum earns the same percentage as five kilos from a house clearance.
How accurate is this figure?
As accurate as the weight and purity you put in. The price side is live; the item side is your estimate until we test it.
- Weigh, don't guess. Digital kitchen scales in grams are fine. Estimating from memory is the main source of surprises later.
- Exclude what isn't silver. Stainless knife blades, wooden and bone handles, glass liners, and the pitch or plaster in weighted candlestick bases are all removed before weighing.
- Weigh knives separately. A silver-handled knife is a thin sterling shell filled with pitch around a steel tang. A 90g knife typically yields 25-35g of silver, so including them at gross weight inflates your quote considerably.
- Check the purity mark. If you can't find one, put in 925 as a working assumption and we'll confirm the real figure by XRF test.
On arrival every item is XRF analysed and weighed precisely. You are paid on the tested weight and purity at the rate you locked, with any deductions itemised. If the tested weight comes in under your estimate you are paid on the true weight; if it comes in over, you are paid more.
What this calculator can't tell you
Two things, and both matter enough to say plainly.
Whether your items are actually silver. The calculator prices metal content, so it assumes what you're weighing is solid silver. Electroplate looks identical, weighs about the same and tarnishes the same way, but has no recoverable silver content and no value to us. Check for the lion passant hallmark first, or read the guide to plate versus solid silver.
Whether your items are worth more than their metal. Georgian silver, prestigious makers, notable design periods, armorials and complete cased services can be worth multiples of scrap value. The calculator has no way of knowing that, and we'd rather point you to an auction house than buy something worth more than we pay. Our guide on getting the best price covers when each route wins.
Locking today's rate
Silver moves every trading day, so a quote is only meaningful if it holds. When you accept, we lock your rate for 48 hours. Post within that window and we pay the rate you locked, whatever the market does while your parcel is in transit. The only thing verified on arrival is the physical metal, never the price.
You can follow the live price on our silver market page, or read how UK scrap silver prices are set. Selling gold as well? The gold calculator works the same way, and both metals can go in one parcel on one label.