Silver Calculator UK

How Do I Calculate the Value of My Silver?

Calculating the value of your silver involves three key factors: weight, purity, and the current silver spot price. Our calculator above does this automatically, but here is how the maths works:

1. Weigh your item in grams. Use kitchen scales or a jeweller's scale for accuracy.
2. Identify the purity. Look for a hallmark stamp — 925 (sterling), 958 (Britannia), or 999 (fine silver).
3. Multiply: weight × purity × silver price per gram. For example, a 30 g sterling silver bracelet at today's price: 30 × 0.925 × £1.47 = £40.79 spot value.

What a dealer pays depends on the form. Hatton Garden Metals, a specialist postal dealer, pays about 70% of the spot value for scrap jewellery and about 87.5% for bars (published rates, checked 17 September 2026). Our calculator shows you the estimated dealer range so you know what to expect.

How Much Is Silver Worth? Value by Weight

The table below shows what common weights of silver are worth at today's fine silver price of £1.47/g, across the three UK purities. These are spot values. Hatton Garden Metals pays about 70% of spot for scrap and about 87.5% for bars (checked 17 September 2026). For an exact figure on your own weight, use the calculator above.

Values update daily with the live silver price. Sterling (925) covers almost all UK silver jewellery and cutlery; bullion bars and coins are usually fine (999) silver.

What Purity Is My Silver?

UK law requires silver items weighing 7.78 grams or more to carry an assay office hallmark. Here's what the common purity stamps mean:

If your item has no hallmark, it may be silver-plated rather than solid silver. A dealer can perform an acid test or XRF scan to confirm the composition — most offer this service free of charge.

How Much Do Dealers Pay for Scrap Silver?

The price a dealer offers depends on the form of your silver and how easily it can be resold or refined. The figures below are Hatton Garden Metals' published buying prices as a share of spot value, checked 17 September 2026; other buyers set their own prices:

• Scrap jewellery: about 70% of spot value, the same for every purity. Includes broken chains, mismatched earrings, and unwanted pieces. Refining costs reduce the offer.
• Silver coins (Britannias, etc.): about 89% of spot value for 1 oz Britannias and about 87.5% for other 1 oz bullion coins such as Maples, Eagles and Philharmonics. Coins in good condition may attract a numismatic premium above melt value.
• Bars and bullion: about 87.5% of spot value for bars from 1 oz to 1 kg. Easy to verify and resell, so margins are thinnest.
• Cutlery and flatware: about 70% of spot value, the same per-gram rate as other sterling scrap. Often sterling 925: weigh the silver parts only (handles may contain stainless steel or filler).

Always obtain quotes from at least three dealers to ensure a fair price. Our dealer directory lists 242+ verified UK buyers.

Does VAT Apply When Selling Silver?

No. When you sell silver to a UK dealer, you receive the agreed price with no VAT deduction. VAT only applies when purchasing silver bullion — dealers must charge 20% VAT on silver bars and coins sold to the public.

This is an important distinction from gold, which is VAT-exempt for investment-grade bars and coins. The VAT difference makes silver bullion more expensive to buy and means the silver price must rise by at least 20% before a buyer can break even on a bullion purchase.

For sellers, however, VAT is not a concern — your dealer payment is the net price agreed. Capital Gains Tax (CGT) may apply if your silver items qualify as “chattels” and the disposal exceeds the annual CGT allowance, but Silver Britannia coins are CGT-exempt as UK legal tender.

Where Can I Sell Silver in the UK for the Best Price?

The best price for silver in the UK comes from specialist bullion dealers who buy silver by weight at published rates based on the daily spot price. High-street jewellers and pawnbrokers usually offer less than specialist buyers. Online dealers often pay the highest rates because their overheads are lower.

To maximise what you receive when selling silver in the UK:

• Calculate first — use the calculator above to know your silver's approximate value before contacting dealers
• Get at least three quotes — use our dealer directory to find 242+ verified UK buyers
• Know your hallmarks — items with clear purity stamps attract higher offers. See our silver hallmarks guide
• Sell coins separately — Silver Britannias and other recognisable coins often attract premiums above melt value. Check dates first with our silver coin values guide
• Read the full process — our guide to selling silver in the UK covers postal packs, price locks and what to do if the final offer differs from the quote
• Check the live silver price — sell when spot prices are strong and the GBP/USD rate is favourable

How to Verify the Purity of Silver Before Selling

Verifying silver purity before visiting a dealer ensures you receive a fair offer. UK hallmarks are the most reliable method — look for a stamped number (925, 958, or 999) alongside an assay office mark. Items hallmarked in the UK will also carry the lion passant symbol for sterling silver or the Britannia figure for 958 silver.

If your silver has no hallmark, a dealer can perform a free XRF (X-ray fluorescence) scan or acid test to confirm the purity. Do not accept a below-market offer on unmarked silver without testing — many older and European pieces are solid silver despite lacking UK hallmarks. Read our complete UK silver hallmarks identification guide for detailed instructions.

Sterling Silver vs Fine Silver

The two most common silver grades in the UK are 925 sterling silver and 999 fine silver, and understanding the difference matters when calculating value.

Sterling silver (925) is 92.5% pure silver alloyed with 7.5% copper. The copper adds hardness, making sterling the standard for jewellery, cutlery, picture frames, and decorative silverware. Almost every piece of UK-hallmarked silver jewellery you own is 925 sterling. Look for a “925” stamp or the lion passant hallmark — a walking lion that has signified sterling quality in England since the 14th century.

Fine silver (999) is 99.9% pure and too soft for everyday jewellery. It is used almost exclusively for bullion products — Silver Britannia coins, silver bars, and investment-grade rounds. Fine silver commands a higher price per gram because there are no alloy deductions: £1.47/g for 999 compared to £1.36/g for 925 at today's prices.

A third grade you may encounter is Britannia silver (958), which is 95.8% pure. This was the compulsory standard for English silverware between 1697 and 1720, and it remains an optional higher standard today. It sits between sterling and fine in both purity and value.

Silver Plate, EPNS and Cutlery: Can You Calculate Its Value?

Searches for a “silver plate value calculator” usually end in disappointment, so here is the honest answer first. This calculator values solid silver only. Silver-plated items (stamped EPNS, EP, A1, “silver plate” or “Sheffield plate”) carry a coating a few microns thick over copper, nickel or brass. The silver on a plated fork is worth pence, and no UK scrap dealer will pay for it. What plated items do have is resale value as tableware: complete canteens and good makers (Mappin & Webb, Walker & Hall, Elkington) sell at auction or on eBay for their looks, not their metal.

Solid silver cutlery is a different story. Look for the lion passant and a 925 or sterling hallmark on each piece; Georgian and Victorian sets are hallmarked on the back of the stem. Weigh it and the calculator above gives the melt value straight away. Two things trip sellers up:

• Knives are mostly not silver. A “silver” table knife has a steel blade and a hollow silver handle filled with pitch or cement. Dealers pay on the estimated shell weight (often 15–25% of the knife's total weight), so do not include knives in a straight weigh-in.
• Complete sets can beat scrap. A matched 12-place canteen by a known maker, or anything pre-1800, is worth getting valued by an auction house before you melt it. Odd spoons and forks, damaged pieces and mixed makers are scrap.

Postal buyers such as Hatton Garden Metals list silver cutlery and tableware among the items they buy, priced per gram of 925. Our silver hallmarks guide shows the marks that separate solid from plated, and the selling silver guide covers how to send a canteen safely by post.

Common Silver Items and Their Approximate Values

Knowing the typical weight of common silver items helps you estimate value before visiting a dealer. The figures below assume 925 sterling silver at today's price of £1.36/g unless the row says otherwise. The last column applies Hatton Garden Metals' published rates, checked 17 September 2026: about 70% of spot for sterling scrap, about 87.5% for bars and about 87.5% for 1 oz bullion coins (about 89% for Britannias; the Britannia row uses the 87.5% coin rate).

These are estimates based on live prices. Actual dealer offers depend on the condition, hallmark, and current demand. Coins in collectable condition may attract a numismatic premium above melt value. Always get multiple quotes before selling.