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Platinum, Silver & Gold! Oh My??

By Ray DeThy

Everyone may possibly own an item or two made of one of the precious metals that is the subject of this month’s column. But there are variations for each of them, and they are not all created equal.

I chose this topic because of the great interest many people have today because of the recent significant increase in the value of these metals. There are a number of basic understandings that you may wish to know—especially if you may wish to buy or sell items made of platinum, silver or gold during this period of extraordinarily high prices.

Basic information about these metals that may be helpful.

  1. All precious metals are weighed by a different scale than 16 oz. per pound that we use in our everyday lives. The name for the 16 oz. pound is “avoirdupois” a French word that means “goods (sold by) weight.” The weight scale used for all precious metal is the troyounce which has 12 troy ounces for each pound. The significance of the weight differentials is that the troy ounce is heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, so when we read that gold prices have escalated to $1000 an ounce, it is for a heavier ounce than regular scale’s calibrations. (This point is part of today’s Value & Tip segment).
  1. Platinum, silver and gold used to make jewelry and other utilitarian products: are seldom fabricated in pure form. Another metal or more is generally added to the precious metal for reason(s) that is usually related to the nature of the specific precious metal with which it is mixed. The following are general indications of the rationale for each of our subject metals along with descriptions of how to identify the proportion of the precious metal to the lesser value “base” metals and how the proportion of each affects the value of the finished product.
  1. Silver: is the one precious metal that is sometimes found to be fabricated in 100% silver with no additives. It is described as “fine” silver and its use in this form is by artisans who have access to pure silver—especially in Mexican and South American countries. It can be easily “worked” because it is more malleable than silver alloys, but it is also less sturdy. The incidence of fine silver uses for jewelry and silverware is not very common, but if found,it will have a silver per ounce that is very close to the market value of pure silver. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING CALCULATIONS ARE BASED ON A HYPOTHETICAL PRICE-NOT A CURRENT PRICE
  1. If silver were quoted at $20/oz., an item made of fine silver would bring a salvage (junk) price of $17 to $19/oz.

But most silver made into jewelry or other items such as flatware, serving pieces, picture frames, etc., have added metals that range between 5% and 25 % of the total weight.

The most common proportions used in the last 150 years are 90% silver alloys (coin silver) and 92.5% silver (sterling). There are literally hundreds of ways that silver is identified through marks of various kinds that will be discussed later.

The value of alloyed silver that is jettisoned as “junk” silver is not proportionally as high in relation to its silver content as you would expect. Using the $20/oz. value, one ounce of sterling will not bring 92.5% of the value of fine silver ($17. - $19.), but more like $9 - $13. The reason for this is difficulty that the melting process has in separating the silver from the base metal—a long story that may be a topic for another time.

  1. Gold: is the precious metal that is the “poster boy” for alloyed metals. It is uncommon to use pure gold to fabricate any item. It is too soft and malleable and wears badly in its pure form. Some ancient jewelry and utilitarian items were made by Roman and Egyptian artisans and even today, some Mid-Eastern jewelry is produced in pure gold(24 karat). Most, however, is made of 10 karat to 18 karat gold. The proportionof actual gold that is in an item can be found by dividing the karat designation of an item by 24 karat(which is pure gold)—e.g.: 10 karat gold is 41.7% gold; 14 karat is 58.5% gold; and 18 karat is 75% gold. So the bad news for junk gold sellers is that when pure gold is valued at $800 an ounce, the theoretical worth of 10 karat gold is $333.60. The good news is that the melting value does not drop as sharply as it does for sterling silver because the base metals alloyed with gold are technologically easier to separate the gold from the other metal(s). Therefore, a melt value for small volume sellers can range from $200.-$250./ounce.
  1. Platinum: was, in the past, usually about twice (or more) as costly to buy as gold but the price has recently dropped to just a bit more than gold. There are other metals alloyed with platinum for various malleability and appearance reasons, but unlike silver and gold, the additives are other precious metals and the proportion is generally 90% platinum and 10% other metal. Palladium and rhodium are the most common alloy additives to platinum. Though their values fluctuate, palladium is about one quarter of gold’s worth and rhodium (which is used as a surface enhancer and for commercial purposes) is valued eight to ten times that of gold’s It is apparent that adding one of these metals does not devalue the finished product.

Marks on platinum pieces are not as uniform as most silver and gold pieces. Many are not marked and must be tested to determine content. Most are marked with “PLAT” or “10 PALL” (which translates to 90% platinum and 10% palladium) and possible others “IRID” for iridium and “RHO” for rhodium.

I hope that, at this point you’re not “bored out of your mind” with detail (and believe me, the above is very general information and not really highly detailed),but a basic understanding is necessary for you (as a buyer or a seller) if you are to make good decisions. These data are also helpful from an antique dealer’s perspective because the knowledge you have provides for a more useful conversation between you and a dealer.

  1. A bit more information about how precious metals are marked or tested:

What follows is a brief expansion of the basic identifying marks for platinum, silver and gold items. There are many that are somewhat obscure or of regional interest only that number into the hundreds.

Silver: is sometimes marked by the parts per thousand that silver is to the total. Common are 800, 850, 900, 925. These indicate that the item is 800/1000; 850/1000; 900/1000; or 925/1000 parts silver. At various time in our history (and other countries also) silversmiths made jewelry and other household items from melted silver coins. In early colonial periods, a person who wanted something made from silver would bring coins to the artisan who then melted them and reconstructed the bullion into the requested product. The maker charged for his creativity and labor. The owner had provided the silver. In the United States these pieces were frequently stamped “coin” and in most cases reflect as 90% silver. During this same period, other countries silver coins were made of 80% silver and pieces marked “coin” would be 80% silver.

This practice continued in the U.S. up until 1965 when circulated silver coins ceased to contain any silver. Much of the American Indian silver jewelry items were made of melted U.S. coins.

Rather than the straight forward American way of marking silver, other countries used and still use various kinds of Hallmarks which are small impressed images on the silver which connotes the quality of the silver as well as other information such as maker’s mark and country of origin. Too much info to deal with now, but a small taste of what it’s like appears in today’s Value & Tip.

Gold: is basically marked by either the numbered karat designation of the percentage of gold number—i.e. 14kt or 585 etc.

An interesting point—most porcelain that is marked 22 karat or 24 karat gold finishes or edge lines has only miniscule gold powder in the gilting liquid.

  1. Quick Summary

Now you know the bare basics insofar as facts as concerned. But there are subjective aspects to your decision whether to sell or buy precious metal objects when they are expensive.

I try to explain to those who bring me gold and silver items they wish to see that:

  1. If the items are not useful to them and are sitting around in a drawer or safety deposit box, now is a good time to sell.
  2. If the items are basic machine made pieces with little design or craftsmanship, the price I will pay is based only on the value of the precious metal.
  3. If there is an item that is well crafted and/or includes gem stones, the price I offer is based not only on the value of the metal, but also on its total presentation as a quality piece of jewelry.

If a customer wants to buy an item(s) that is made of precious metals, I advise them to buy only items that are beautifully designed and hand crafted. There is no compelling reason for buying ordinary gold or silver items and paying excessive prices for plain imagery and poor workmanship.

But in the final analysis, each person has to make his/her own decision as to whether the market is in a Sell or Buy mode.

VALUE & TIP

This article’s example is a beautiful adjunct to a silver tea set. It is a tilting hot water pot that was used to keep water hot so that cups of tea could be made at the serving table (and sometimes used for other purposes). When I received it, I was in a quandary as to where it was made and what the quality of the silver was. There were no marks anywhere on it except a number 13 impressed on one of the support legs. After more than a few hours of research, I found that the “13” was a 19th century Austrian method of assaying silver. They used a grading scale (called Loths) with 16 being the equivalency of pure (fine) silver. This item’s “13” means that it was made of metal that was 13/16 of silver or 81.25%.

Value: Silver Pot in excellent condition made of 81.25% silver with a bone handle valued at $750.(at the time) for its silver content and $1,500. as a beautiful hand crafted mid 19th century water pot.

Tip: Just because an item is not marked in a traditional way or has no mark, does not mean that it is not made of precious metals. Do your due diligence research or get some professional help before reaching a conclusion.