Sterling silver value per gram
Sterling silver is 925 thousandths silver, the standard set in UK hallmarking law, and its metal value is its weight times 0.925 times the price of a gram of pure silver. This calculator reads the silver spot price in pounds from gold-api.com, shows when it was set, and does that sum for any weight you type. Sterling is the silver of British cutlery, tea sets, trays, trophies and most silver jewellery, and inherited pieces can be heavy, so the total can be substantial even though silver is cheap by the gram. The difficulty is the weight: knives have steel blades, candlesticks are filled, and plated items look the same as solid ones. This page explains what to take out of the reckoning and how to tell sterling from plate. Gold by Carat is an independent site, not a silver buyer or a dealer.
Example: 500 g of 925 silver
£595.98
Value of the silver itself at today’s price, before a buyer takes its cut
| 1 g at 925 | £1.19 |
| 1 troy oz at 925 | £37.07 |
| 1 kg at 925 | £1,192 |
| Fine silver, per gram | £1.29 |
Figures and rules checked by the site’s publisher, Radif Partners · How the values are worked out · Editorial policy
Sterling silver value by weight
| Weight of sterling | Pure silver | Metal value |
|---|---|---|
| 50 g | 46 g | £59.60 |
| 100 g | 93 g | £119.20 |
| 250 g | 231 g | £297.99 |
| 500 g | 463 g | £595.98 |
| 1000 g | 925 g | £1,192 |
| 2000 g | 1,850 g | £2,384 |
More detail below: tap a heading to open it.
Reading the mark
UK hallmarking law sets out the marks an assay office strikes: its own office mark and the standard mark, which for sterling is the figures 925. A lion passant may appear as an optional pictorial mark, or a lion rampant on pieces marked in Edinburgh. Next to them sits the sponsor’s mark, the registered initials of the maker or importer. The British Hallmarking Council reminds buyers that an item described as silver must be hallmarked, subject to the weight exemptions. Silver items under 7.78 g are exempt from hallmarking under the hallmarking law, so small rings and earrings may be unmarked.
What to leave out of the weight
- Knives: steel blades and filled handles. Weigh them separately and expect a buyer to discount them.
- Candlesticks and some vases: “loaded” bases filled with pitch, resin or plaster.
- Teapots and coffee pots: wooden or ivory handles and finials, and insulators.
- Dressing table sets: brushes with wooden backs covered in a thin silver sheet.
- Anything with glass liners, enamel or stones.
Spoons, forks, trays, salvers, bowls and most jewellery are solid and can be weighed as they are.
From value to offer
Silver buyers quote per gram of sterling or per troy ounce. Convert to a share of the metal value above and compare buyers on that. The silver price page shows the other standards, and the hallmark guide decodes the marks on silver as well as gold. For a family collection, the inherited gold and silver page covers the tax rules, which are the same chattel rules as for gold jewellery.