Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Dug Sterling Silverware |
Over the time I've been metal detecting, there have been times when silver was more valuable than others. Now silver prices are fairly high, but not nearly as high as they have been.
I've been doing a little mucking, or sometimes I call it junking, which will try your patience, as I recently described, but eventually among the junk you can find some nicer things.
I recently picked up a couple pieces of silverware that looked like they could be silver but I didn't know for sure until I got them home. After a little cleaning, I was pleased to find a hallmark, as well as the sterling mark.
Then I looked to see what silver was doing. I was pleased to find that it is up to a little over $25 an oz.
Not long ago I did a post on how to calculate the value of precious metals, and Barbara Ann told us about the www.goldcalc.com app, which makes it easy.
The same type of app is available for silver and other metals. Using the online calculator I found that some of these hefty pieces of flatware are worth over $25. That adds up pretty quickly. Of course, metal prices change daily.
Anyhow, the silverware was worth more than I expected. As you can see below, silver prices have been increasing but are not nearly as high as they were back around 1980 and 2010 when they really peaked.
I remember the 1980 peak. The Koch brothers tried to corner the market and sent silver prices soaring.
As you can see below silver has increased a good bit over the last 20 years. 446%.
But it isn't nearly as much as it would seem, once you take into account inflation. the value of the dollar is much less than it was back then.
$1 in 1980 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $3.74 today, an increase of $2.74 over 44 years. The dollar had an average inflation rate of 3.05% per year between 1980 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 274.29%.
Flatware is a relatively common find. Of course, a lot of it is not silver. I can't guess the percent that is really silver, but it has to be pretty small percent.
Here are some Equinox conductivity numbers for some forks, spoons and knives that I've tested in the past and posted.
Using the equinox the following conductivity numbers were obtained for each example, working from the top of the photo to the bottom.
Two-tined fork -5 to -2
Stainless spoon -5 to -2
Frozen Heat knife 2 - 5
Sterling fork 18 - 22
Sterling spoon 28 - 32
Here are the items from that test.
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| Silverware Used to Check Metal Detector Conductivity Numbers. |
Here is that link.
The Treasure Beaches Report Direct From Florida's Treasure Coast.: Search results for fork spoon
Flatware can be found almost anywhere people have been. Flatware can often be found at nice outdoor areas where people might choose to picnic. I've found flatware in many nice outdoor locations. You can sometimes find it when metal detecting under docks or on beaches.
Occasionally you can find pewter pieces. Below is another group I've found over the years.
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| Flatware Finds From the Past. |
Occasionally you'll find a pewter piece. Pewter has traditionally been an alloy of tin and lead.
ConservationManual.pdf (tamu.edu)
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| Surf Chart From Surfguru.com. |
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net
