About Silver

The history of silver and of the trade in silver goes back to the earliest times. As one of the “noble” metals silver does not rust or tarnish. It is bright and attractive, leading to its use for ornaments (such as jewelry) and for eating- and drinking- utensils from far back in human history. The ancient Egyptians thought their gods had skins of gold and bones of silver. Silver bracelets are found in a tomb going back to about 2530 B.C. Silver is also found as a medium of exchange in ancient Egypt, and the shat (a small flat disc containing about 7.55 grams of silver) testifies to silver’s use as coinage from the most ancient times. Greece, Rome, and the Hellenistic kingdoms used silver coinage as well. Silver mines near Laurium in ancient Greece were in operation as early as 1000 BC, and silver mines in Macedonia provided the wealth which Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, used to subvert and influence the Greek world. Alexander’s successors used a silver coin, the tetradrachm, as their standard of coinage, and the purity of the silver in these coins was over 90%. In Medieval times the Chinese accepted payment for their tea, silk, and spice from the Europeans in silver bullion. The Chinese thought so highly of silver that until fairly modern times the standard exchange rate for silver in China was ten parts silver for one of gold, when in the rest of the world it was sixteen parts for one. The denarius of the Roman empire was a silver coin containing from 3.65 grams of silver at the height of the empire down to 0.60 grams at the start of the Dark Ages.

Trade Silver For Cash

Silver has always been valuable, although its price has fluctuated. There is evidence the ancient Egyptians for a time considered silver more valuable than gold. Today, in addition to its use in jewelry, coins, and eating utensils, silver has applications in the manufacture of batteries, ball bearings, and electronic circuits. Both for beauty and for practical uses, silver is a source of wealth.

There are various ways of trading silver, depending on what the seller wants to accomplish. The highest prices for silver jewelry, flatware, and coins are paid by collectors, who take into account a piece’s historical and artistic value. For someone who is not already a collector of silver himself, however, it may be difficult to find the right collector. Estate agents, who make a living buying and selling such items, are the next best choice if you have silver pieces of historical or artistic interest. Jewelers and pawnbrokers come next, although it is important to remember that they are in business to sell to the public, not to buy from the public. Last of all come the silver refiners, who are in the business of buying scrap silver. A refiner’s price for your silver pieces is based only on the amount of silver they contain. The “melt price” is about 80% of the value calculated by multiplying the weight of pure silver times the spot price for silver on that day.

Naturally, if a piece has great sentimental value for you, it would be wrong to sell it, if only because the money you get for it will never amount to a fraction of its value in your eyes. You can trade sterling silver for cash, but if the sterling was a wedding present to you fifty years ago, and if one of your children is looking forward to inheriting it, no one can pay what it is worth to you and your family. The same applies to jewelry. You can trade silver rings for cash, but your mother’s plain silver wedding band is something you should probably keep. The same is true if you are planning to trade silver jewelry: the estate agent can’t take into account the fact that this bracelet was given to you by dear departed Aunt Mildred all those many years ago. On the other hand, if you didn’t care all that much for Aunt Mildred, well, the price of silver is currently very high.

Perhaps it is emotionally easiest to trade silver coins for cash. Coins may have sentimental value, but when all is said, they were currency, passing from hand to hand until somebody decided to hoard them in a drawer or chest. Coins have considerable historical interest, and you can always trade silver dollar for more than face value. You should be warned, however, that the Susan B. Anthony and Sacajawea “silver” dollars contain no silver whatsoever and that the Eisenhower silver dollar is at best only silver plated. Today, the high melt price makes it attractive to trade a silver dollar to a refiner for the cash value of the silver it contains.

Cash4Gold is a refiner that buys scrap silver and makes the process very convenient for the person who wants to trade silver for cash. You can contact Cash4Gold at any time day or night through its website or by phone. After being contacted, Cash4Gold sends the prospective seller a Refiner’s Return Pack, which includes an informational chart and a postage-paid, insured container for mailing the items. On receiving the items, Cash4Gold matches them against the list provided by the seller, photographs, weighs, and assays the items, and sends the seller a check for the value—all on the same day. If you accept the price, simply cash the check; if you are dissatisfied, contact Cash4Gold and request the return of you items. The vast majority of sellers who opt to use our services (94%) accept the price and cash their checks.

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