Affiliate disclosure: White Metal Resources may earn a commission when readers open an account through links on this site. That never changes what you pay or what we write. We are not financial or tax advisors. Consult a licensed advisor before making decisions with money.
Last updated: August 13, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial
Quick answer: Sort the lot first. Send named-maker antique pieces to a regional auction house for the buyer competition premium. Send unmarked sterling scrap and generic hollowware to a coin or precious-metals dealer for a fast written percentage of melt. Send large clean sorted melt lots above the refiner minimum (usually 500 troy ounces of pure silver) to a refiner. One channel almost never wins on every category in a large mixed lot.
Short on time? The essentials
- A large silver lot from an estate almost always contains three different categories of value: named-maker antique or collector pieces, generic sterling flatware and hollowware, and pure melt (bars, rounds, US pre-1965 coinage). Each category has a different best-fit channel.
- Regional auction houses charge a seller commission (typically 10 to 25 percent) plus levy a buyer premium (typically 20 to 28 percent on the first tier for major houses) that comes off the hammer price the seller sees. Settlement usually arrives 45 to 60 days after the sale.
- Coin and precious-metals dealers pay a written percentage of the day's silver spot. Typical ranges: 90 to 95 percent of melt on US pre-1965 coinage, 60 to 80 percent of melt on unmarked sterling, and only 35 to 55 percent of collector value on named-maker antique pieces they view as scrap.
- Wholesale refiners pay the highest percentage of melt (typically 90 to 97 percent) on large clean sorted lots above the intake minimum, often 500 troy ounces or more of pure silver content. They treat any collector or antique interest as zero. Settlement takes 7 to 30 days after the assay.
- At an illustrative 30 dollars per troy ounce, one kilogram of clean sterling holds 29.74 troy ounces of pure silver, worth about 892.30 dollars in melt content. Substitute the day's real spot to reprice any lot.
- A worked example on a mixed 8,000 dollar lot split correctly across the three channels nets about 6,340 dollars. The same lot sent whole to a refiner nets about 4,610 dollars. Sorting first is worth roughly 1,700 dollars on this size lot.
- Auction houses win when the lot contains signed or named-maker pieces from silversmiths like Tiffany and Company, Georg Jensen, Gorham, Reed and Barton, Wallace, or International. Ask any local auction house whether they hold a periodic silver or estate sale.
- Never ship silver to any channel without USPS Registered Mail (insured up to 50,000 dollars in declared value at a Post Office counter) or a private high-value carrier with declared-value coverage that actually applies to precious metals.
- Silver held for retirement inside an IRA is a completely different topic. IRA silver has to sit at .999 fineness or better in an approved depository, covered in our silver IRA explainer. Estate silver sold to any of these three channels does not enter the IRA framework.
- Red flags across all three channels: no written percentage or reserve, no scale in view, on-site fineness reclassification, and refusal to itemize by category on the intake ticket.
A large silver lot is the moment when the "one price fits all" assumption breaks. An estate sterling flatware service, a hollowware collection, or a pile of coins does not have a single correct buyer. The same 100 pieces routed through a single channel can leave 20 to 40 percent of the achievable proceeds on the table.
This page compares the three channels an American consumer or inheritor actually has for a lot large enough to matter (roughly 5,000 dollars in melt content or above). It walks through how each channel prices, when to use it, when to avoid it, and how to divide a mixed lot to take the best of each door.
Sort the lot by category before you quote any channel
Every honest quote in silver starts with a sort. A large mixed lot from an estate almost always contains three very different kinds of value, and pricing them as one pile guarantees a low overall payout. Do the sort before you call any auction house, dealer, or refiner.
Category one is named-maker antique or collector-interest pieces: signed sterling from Tiffany and Company, Georg Jensen, Gorham, Reed and Barton, International, Wallace, or a comparable listed silversmith. These pieces can fetch several multiples of melt from a specialist auction bidder or a private collector.
Category two is generic sterling flatware and hollowware without a recognized maker mark, plus continental 800 silver, plus damaged or heavily monogrammed pieces. This category prices as scrap silver at close to melt and moves best through a coin or precious-metals dealer.
Category three is pure melt: American Silver Eagles, Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, listed refiner bars (Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, Sunshine Mint, PAMP Suisse), and US pre-1965 90 percent silver coinage. This category has a nearly identical price across dealers on the same spot day and moves cleanly at close to spot.
Weigh each pile separately on a scale that reads to the tenth of a gram. Photograph and inventory each pile before any material leaves the house. That inventory becomes your reference against every quote you receive and every settlement that arrives.
How regional auction houses price large silver lots
A regional or national auction house prices silver on the assumption that the highest bidder in a competitive room will pay more than any single dealer. That assumption holds when the pieces carry maker, historical, or collector interest. It fails when the pieces are anonymous scrap.
The auction fee stack has two sides that both come out of the sale price. The seller commission is typically 10 to 25 percent of the hammer price for silver at a regional house. The buyer premium is levied on top of the hammer bid and is not paid to the seller. It is, however, priced into what bidders are willing to bid, so it reduces the top-line hammer.
Buyer premiums at the major international houses have moved higher over the past decade. Christie's raised its buyer premium in 2017 to 25 percent on the first 100,000 dollars, 20 percent on 100,001 to 2,000,000 dollars, and 12.5 percent on the remainder. Sotheby's uses a comparable multi-tier structure. Regional houses often run 20 to 28 percent on the low tier.
The practical arithmetic on a signed silver piece looks like this. A Georg Jensen bowl estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 dollars hammers at 4,000 dollars. The seller receives 4,000 dollars minus roughly 15 percent seller commission, or about 3,400 dollars, plus or minus condition adjustments. The buyer paid about 5,000 dollars after buyer premium, roughly 1,600 dollars above hammer.
Settlement at an auction house is slower than a dealer sale. Typical settlement runs 30 to 60 days after the sale to allow for buyer payment clearance and dispute windows. The seller waits, and any unsold lot returns to the consignor or rolls into a later sale.
Ask any candidate auction house three questions before consigning. First, what is the seller commission on silver at this lot size. Second, what is the low estimate and the reserve you would recommend. Third, when is your next appropriate silver or estate sale. Regional houses hold silver-focused sales two to six times per year.
How coin and precious-metals dealers price large silver lots
A coin shop or precious-metals dealer prices a large silver lot from the melt formula and pays a written percentage on the day of the sale. The math is simple, the settlement is fast, and the payout on generic sterling and on standard bullion is competitive.
Typical paid percentages of melt at a dealer for a large silver lot:
- US pre-1965 dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars: 90 to 95 percent of melt.
- American Silver Eagles, Canadian Silver Maple Leafs: 93 to 98 percent of melt.
- Listed refiner bars 10 oz to 100 oz (Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, PAMP Suisse, Sunshine Mint): 93 to 98 percent of melt.
- Generic silver rounds and unlisted bars: 85 to 93 percent of melt.
- Sterling flatware or hollowware without maker interest: 60 to 80 percent of melt.
- Continental 800 silver: 55 to 75 percent of melt.
- Signed antique or named-maker pieces sold as scrap: 35 to 55 percent of collector value.
The dealer channel is where a large mixed lot loses the most money on any named-maker piece. A dealer pays for silver content, not for maker interest, unless the shop happens to run a numismatic or antique retail line. That is the exception, not the rule, at a scrap-desk dealer.
Settlement at a dealer is fast. Most walk-in sales settle same-day by cash or next-day by check that clears in one business day. A mail-in intake through a national dealer settles in 5 to 15 business days after receipt. The seller carries no counterparty risk once the check clears.
The advantage of the dealer channel on a large lot is speed, price certainty on the melt categories, and a written percentage the seller can compare against the auction estimate or the refiner assay. The disadvantage is the flat treatment of any collector or antique interest as pure scrap. Sort first, sell the melt categories to the dealer, and route the named-maker pieces elsewhere.
How wholesale refiners price large silver lots
A wholesale refiner buys silver by the lot, runs a fire assay or an X-ray fluorescence scan on the melted material, and pays a percentage of the assay minus a per-ounce refining fee. The channel pays the highest percentage of melt of any of the three on a large clean sorted lot that meets the intake minimum.
The typical intake minimum for the best terms sits around 500 troy ounces of pure silver content. Below that, the refining fee and intake overhead consume too much of the top-line percentage, and a coin shop or online bullion buyer usually delivers a better net payout on the same material.
Typical paid percentages of melt at a refiner on a large sorted lot:
- Bulk clean sterling scrap, above 500 troy ounces pure silver: 90 to 97 percent of melt after refining fee.
- US pre-1965 90 percent silver coinage sold as melt: 92 to 97 percent of melt.
- Bar and round scrap of known fineness: 92 to 97 percent of melt.
- Small or mixed lots below the intake minimum: often refused, or quoted at a penalty rate of 80 to 88 percent.
Refiners are the wrong door for anything with collector interest. A signed Tiffany bowl at the refiner is priced by its silver content and nothing else. A pile of anonymous sterling flatware at the refiner is priced correctly. Sort before you ship.
Recognizable US refiners with published intake programs include Metalor, Umicore, and Asahi Refining, among others accredited under the LBMA Good Delivery list for gold and silver. The LBMA framework is the accreditation standard the global bullion market uses for refined bar quality and is a useful shorthand for identifying a legitimate refiner counterparty.
Settlement at a refiner runs 7 to 30 days after the assay clears. The intake agreement typically requires source documentation on the material, which for an estate lot means a copy of the estate inventory or a signed affidavit. The seller signs the intake agreement, ships the lot, waits for the assay, and receives payment against the assay result.
How to divide a mixed lot across the three channels
The single move that captures the most value on a large mixed silver lot is the correct assignment of each category to the right channel. The steps below work for any lot from about 5,000 dollars up through mid six figures of melt content.
- Inventory every piece before anything leaves the house. Photograph, weigh, and note fineness marks on each item. Group by category: named-maker antique, generic sterling, continental 800, US pre-1965 coinage, bullion coins, refiner bars.
- Compute the melt floor for each category. Multiply gross grams by the fineness decimal (0.925 sterling, 0.900 US coin silver, 0.999 bullion). Divide by 31.1035 to convert grams to troy ounces of pure silver. Multiply by the current silver spot per troy ounce.
- Get one specialist appraisal on the named-maker pieces. Ask a regional auction house that runs silver sales for a free consignment estimate. Compare against a private collector market reference like Replacements Ltd. for pattern value on flatware.
- Get three written dealer quotes on the melt categories. Call two local coin shops and one national online bullion buyer with the exact category counts and weights. Ask each for a written percentage of melt at the day's silver spot on each category.
- Get one refiner quote if the pure silver content clears 500 troy ounces. Contact a listed refiner or a bulk intake broker with the sorted lot summary and the assay basis. Compare the net after refining fee against the best dealer quote on the same material.
- Assign each category to the best-paying channel. The named-maker pieces go to the auction house consignment. The generic sterling and continental scrap go to the best dealer quote or the refiner if the lot clears the minimum. The US pre-1965 coinage and the bullion go to whichever pays best of the three on the day.
- Ship or hand-deliver each pile with proper documentation. Any shipped lot uses USPS Registered Mail with a declared value equal to the pile's melt ceiling, or a private high-value carrier with real coverage on precious metals. Retain every intake ticket until final settlement clears.
The overall net-to-seller on the sum of the three channels typically clears the single-channel result by 20 to 40 percent of the total lot value. On a mixed 8,000 dollar estate lot, the sort-and-split approach adds about 1,700 dollars of net proceeds compared to sending everything to a refiner and about 900 dollars compared to sending everything to a dealer.
Channels compared for a large silver lot
The table below summarizes the three channels on the criteria that matter for a large lot: fee structure, best-fit category, practical minimum, settlement time, and the specific risk each channel presents.
| Criterion | Regional auction house | Coin or precious-metals dealer | Wholesale refiner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best-fit category | Named-maker antique or collector-interest pieces | Generic sterling, US pre-1965 coinage, bullion | Large clean sorted scrap above intake minimum |
| Fee structure | Seller commission 10 to 25 percent plus buyer premium 20 to 28 percent (paid by buyer) | Written percentage of the day's silver spot per category | Percentage of assay minus per-ounce refining fee |
| Typical net-to-seller | 60 to 78 percent of realized value depending on lot mix | 60 to 95 percent of melt depending on category | 90 to 97 percent of melt above intake minimum |
| Practical minimum | Any single piece worth at least the low estimate the house will list | Any lot size | Usually 500 troy ounces pure silver content |
| Settlement time | 30 to 60 days after the sale | Same-day (walk-in) to 15 business days (mail-in) | 7 to 30 days after the assay clears |
| Documentation required | Consignment agreement, estimate letter, reserve election | Government ID, intake ticket, sometimes a Form 1099-B | Intake agreement, source documentation, assay basis |
| Main risk to seller | No-sale on unreserved lots; slow cash; hammer below estimate | Flat treatment of collector interest as scrap | Zero payment for any collector or antique value |
Ranges reflect published seller commission structures at regional auction houses, buyer premium history at Christie's and Sotheby's since the modern 10 percent premium began at Sotheby Parke-Bernet in September 1975, coin and precious-metals dealer paid-percentage-of-melt schedules, LBMA Good Delivery accreditation for refiner-grade bars, and consumer complaint patterns in the FTC Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries. Actual quotes vary by lot mix, silver spot, and regional buyer competition. Checked August 2026.
A worked example on a mixed 8,000 dollar lot
The math below walks through a mixed estate lot with three categories, using an illustrative silver spot of 30 dollars per troy ounce. It compares the total net proceeds under three routing choices: everything to a refiner, everything to a dealer, or the sort-and-split approach.
Picture an inheritor in the American Midwest who consolidates a parent's silver after downsizing. The full lot contains three categories, each weighed on a jeweler's scale to the tenth of a gram, priced against an illustrative silver spot of 30 dollars per troy ounce.
- Category A, named-maker antique: a Gorham sterling coffee service (1,200 grams gross, .925 sterling, coherent pattern, no damage). Auction estimate 2,500 to 3,500 dollars for the set. Melt content: 1,200 grams times 0.925 divided by 31.1035 equals 35.69 troy ounces pure silver, worth 1,070.66 dollars in melt.
- Category B, generic sterling flatware: 3,500 grams gross of unmarked sterling and continental 800 flatware, mixed patterns, some monograms. Melt content estimated at 100.11 troy ounces pure silver, worth 3,003.30 dollars in melt at 30 dollars spot.
- Category C, US pre-1965 coinage: 40 dollars face value of mixed dimes, quarters, and half dollars, plus five American Silver Eagles. Melt content: 28.60 troy ounces pure silver on the junk silver, plus 5.00 troy ounces on the Eagles, worth 1,008.00 dollars in melt at 30 dollars spot.
- Total melt content across all three categories: 174.40 troy ounces pure silver, worth about 5,232 dollars in melt at 30 dollars spot. Total realized value depends on channel choice.
Routing option one: everything to a wholesale refiner. Total pure silver is 174.40 troy ounces, below the typical 500 troy ounce intake minimum for the best terms, so the refiner quotes a penalty rate of 88 percent of melt on the mixed lot. Net: 0.88 times 5,232 equals 4,604 dollars. The Gorham coffee service is priced as sterling scrap, with the maker interest scoring zero.
Routing option two: everything to a coin and precious-metals dealer. The dealer pays 70 percent of melt on the sterling (both the Gorham and the anonymous flatware, treated the same), 92 percent of melt on the US 90 percent junk silver, and 96 percent of melt on the Silver Eagles. Net: 0.70 times 4,073.96 plus 0.92 times 858.00 plus 0.96 times 150.00 equals 3,573.34 dollars sterling plus 789.36 dollars junk plus 144.00 dollars Eagles, totaling 4,507 dollars. Better on the coinage, worse on the Gorham.
Routing option three: sort and split across the three channels. Send the Gorham coffee service to a regional auction house at a 3,000 dollar hammer with a 15 percent seller commission, netting 2,550 dollars. Send the generic sterling scrap (3,500 grams) to a dealer at 70 percent of melt, netting 2,102 dollars. Send the US 90 percent coinage and Silver Eagles to the same dealer at 92 to 96 percent of melt, netting about 933 dollars. Total: 2,550 plus 2,102 plus 933 equals 5,585 dollars.
The sort-and-split approach nets about 1,000 dollars more than the whole-lot dealer sale and about 1,000 dollars more than the whole-lot refiner sale on this size lot. The uplift comes almost entirely from routing the Gorham to the auction house instead of pricing it as scrap.
Substitute a different silver spot to reprice the melt floor. At 25 dollars per troy ounce the total melt is 4,360 dollars. At 35 dollars per troy ounce the total melt is 6,104 dollars. The channel routing logic does not change with spot; only the melt dollars move.
Figures are illustrative, not a quote from any specific auction house, dealer, or refiner, and not a promise of future silver prices. Spot prices are examples, not forecasts. This is not tax or investment advice. Consult a licensed advisor for personal decisions.
Net to seller by channel and category
The chart below plots the typical net-to-seller percentage across the three channels for the three categories a large lot usually contains. The uneven pattern is the reason the sort-and-split approach captures value the single-channel routes cannot reach.
When each channel is the wrong door
The same channel that wins on one category loses on another. Recognizing the wrong door for a specific pile is as valuable as identifying the right one.
A regional auction house is the wrong door for anonymous sterling scrap, unmarked bars, or bulk US 90 percent coinage. The commission and buyer premium stack eats the top line, the sale cycle is measured in months, and the reserve mechanism can leave the pile unsold. Silver of this type moves better and faster through a dealer or a refiner.
A coin or precious-metals dealer is the wrong door for any signed named-maker piece, especially a Tiffany, Georg Jensen, or Gorham item in coherent condition. A dealer prices these as sterling content and offers 35 to 55 percent of the price the same piece would fetch in a specialist auction. Send the collector pieces to an auction house instead.
A wholesale refiner is the wrong door for anything below the intake minimum and for anything with collector interest. Below 500 troy ounces of pure silver the penalty rate takes back much of the top-line refiner percentage, and any maker interest scores zero. Small mixed lots move better through a dealer, and collector pieces move better through an auction house.
The combined right answer is almost always the split. Send each category to its best channel, accept the extra shipping and settlement complexity, and take the net-to-seller uplift.
Shipping, insurance and settlement timing
A large silver lot rarely leaves the house in a single hand-carry. The shipping and settlement mechanics deserve care because a loss in transit or a delayed settlement can wipe out the channel routing gains.
USPS Registered Mail is the standard for high-value silver shipments. The service is insured up to 50,000 dollars in declared value, purchased at a Post Office counter, and travels through a locked chain of custody with signature transfers at every handoff. Standard USPS Insurance covers up to 5,000 dollars in declared value and is priced separately.
Private carriers such as FedEx and UPS cap their standard coverage on precious metals well below the limits they publish for general merchandise. Specialty carriers like Malca-Amit, Brink's Global Services, and Loomis International handle high-value bullion transfers on documented shipments, but they primarily serve dealer-to-dealer traffic rather than individual consumer sales.
Practical shipping protocol for any single pile above 5,000 dollars in melt or realized value:
- Photograph and video-record each item on a calibrated scale before packing. Note gross weight, fineness marks, and any hallmarks.
- Pack in a plain box with no branding that identifies the contents.
- Ship USPS Registered Mail with declared value equal to the melt ceiling or auction low estimate, whichever is higher.
- Retain the Post Office receipt with the Registered Mail number until final settlement clears.
- Track daily until delivery is confirmed, then follow the intake ticket to settlement.
Settlement timing varies sharply by channel. A dealer walk-in settles same-day. A dealer mail-in settles 5 to 15 business days after receipt. A refiner settles 7 to 30 days after the assay clears. An auction settles 30 to 60 days after the sale, and any unsold lot rolls to the next sale or returns to the consignor. Plan the total cash timing around whichever pile is on the slowest track.
Limits and honest caveats
Everything on this page is a pattern rather than a specific quote from a specific auction house, dealer, or refiner. A few honest limits are worth stating clearly before any reader acts.
Every dollar figure on the page derives from a stated illustrative silver spot price of 30 dollars per troy ounce. Real silver spot moves continuously during market hours and can swing by a dollar or two per troy ounce in a single session. Substitute the day's real spot to reprice, and expect the melt ceiling to move with it.
Auction house net-to-seller depends heavily on the room on the day. A signed silver piece can hammer at three times the low estimate in front of the right two collectors and can pass entirely unsold at a sale with no relevant bidders present. The ranges above are midpoints, not guarantees.
Refiner published rates and intake minimums change over time and vary across accredited houses. Any specific quote should come from a current published fee schedule or a signed intake agreement rather than a general range on this page. Confirm the schedule in writing before shipping the lot.
Named-maker premiums are qualitative on this page and not quantified as specific dollar values or specific multiples. A signed piece by a first-tier silversmith may fetch several multiples of melt at auction or nothing above melt at a scrap desk. A specialist appraisal is the only way to translate the qualitative tier into an expected dollar range for a specific piece.
Rare-coin numismatic value is out of scope for this page. Any coin lot with potential collector value above melt (early US silver dollars, key-date halves, high-grade Morgan or Peace dollars) deserves a specialist coin appraisal before it goes to any of the three channels above. This site covers melt and silverware; rare-coin numismatics is a separate specialty.
Silver held for retirement inside a self-directed IRA is a completely different topic. IRA silver has to sit at .999 fineness or better in an approved depository, and household or estate silver sold to any of the three channels above does not enter the IRA framework at all. That topic is covered in our silver IRA explainer rather than on this page.
Large silver lot questions, answered
What is the best way to sell a large silver lot from an estate?
Sort the lot into three categories first: named-maker antique pieces, generic sterling scrap, and pure melt (bars, rounds, US pre-1965 coinage). Route each category to its best channel. Named-maker pieces go to a regional auction house. Generic sterling scrap and pure melt go to a coin or precious-metals dealer, or to a wholesale refiner if the pure silver content clears 500 troy ounces.
How much does a regional auction house charge to sell silver?
Seller commission on silver at a regional auction house typically runs 10 to 25 percent of the hammer price. The auction house also levies a buyer premium (typically 20 to 28 percent at the low tier for major houses) that the winning bidder pays on top of the hammer, which reduces what bidders are willing to bid. Settlement runs 30 to 60 days after the sale.
What percentage of melt does a refiner pay on a large silver lot?
A wholesale refiner typically pays 90 to 97 percent of melt on a large clean sorted lot above the intake minimum, often 500 troy ounces of pure silver or more. Below the minimum the refiner may refuse the lot or quote a penalty rate of 80 to 88 percent. The refiner pays for silver content only and scores zero on any collector or antique interest.
Should I send my named-maker silver to a refiner?
No. A refiner pays for silver content and pays zero for any maker interest. A signed piece from Tiffany, Georg Jensen, Gorham, Reed and Barton, or a comparable listed silversmith can fetch several multiples of melt from a specialist auction bidder. Send named-maker pieces to a regional auction house that holds silver sales, not to a refiner.
How long does it take to receive payment from an auction house on silver?
Auction settlement typically runs 30 to 60 days after the sale. The window allows for buyer payment clearance, dispute periods, and the auction house's own accounting cycle. Any unsold lot rolls to the next appropriate sale or returns to the consignor. Regional houses hold silver-focused sales roughly two to six times per year.
Is a dealer or a refiner better for a mixed silver lot?
It depends on the size of the pure silver content. Below 500 troy ounces of pure silver, a coin or precious-metals dealer usually delivers a better net payout than a refiner because the refining fee and intake overhead consume the top-line percentage. Above 500 troy ounces of pure silver in a clean sorted lot, a refiner typically pays 5 to 15 percentage points more than a dealer on the same material.
How do I ship a large silver lot safely?
Use USPS Registered Mail with declared value equal to the melt ceiling or the auction low estimate, whichever is higher. Registered Mail is insured up to 50,000 dollars at a Post Office counter and travels through a locked chain of custody. Standard USPS Insurance covers only up to 5,000 dollars. Never accept a buyer's shipping label that does not name Registered Mail or an equivalent tracked and insured product.
Do I owe tax when I sell inherited silver?
Possibly, but the answer depends on the cost basis, the holding period, and personal tax circumstances. Inherited property typically receives a stepped-up basis to the fair market value on the date of the decedent's death, and gains above that basis may be taxable when the silver is sold. This is not tax advice. Consult a licensed CPA or tax attorney before the sale for the exact treatment in your situation.
Sources
- Buyer's premium at major auction houses (Christie's raised premiums in 2017 to 25 percent up to 100,000 dollars, 20 percent from 100,001 to 2,000,000 dollars, 12.5 percent on the remainder; Sotheby's uses a comparable tiered structure; modern premium introduced at 10 percent at Sotheby Parke-Bernet in September 1975). Checked August 2026.
- US Postal Service, Insurance and Extra Services (Standard Insurance up to 5,000 dollars declared value; Registered Mail insured up to 50,000 dollars at a Post Office counter). Checked August 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (16 CFR Part 23, fineness misrepresentation and consumer protection). Checked August 2026.
- London Bullion Market Association, About Good Delivery (accreditation framework for silver and gold bar refiners recognized in the global bullion market). Checked August 2026.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Press Release 8260-20: CFTC Orders JPMorgan to Pay Record 920 Million Dollars for Spoofing and Manipulation of Precious Metals Futures. Checked August 2026.
- Silver Institute, Silver Supply and Demand (global silver demand mix across industrial, coin and bar, jewelry, and silverware categories). Checked August 2026.
- Sterling silver: composition 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent other metals, minimum millesimal fineness 925. Checked August 2026.
- Troy weight: one troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams, the unit in which silver spot prices are quoted worldwide. Checked August 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 551: Basis of Assets (stepped-up basis on inherited property to fair market value on the date of the decedent's death). Checked August 2026.
