Cleaning Out Estate and Found a Silver Collection.. What Should I Do?
It happens all the time. Mom and Dad pass away and you never asked all the questions you should have about the silver and other antiques in the house. What can you do? What should you do? People around the world are faced with these questions every single day. Before you take those items to a charity shop, there are some things you should and should not do.
Lots of places are happy to look at your silver and there are pros and cons to each.
Clean-out companies: Many of these companies are predatory, charging families hundreds to haul away their junk-- as well as their priceless antiques and silver. I always think this is the worst option, but sometimes when all the family is far away and time is severely limited, this may be the best option. Just know, if they spot a gold coin collection or a midcentury Rolex in the mix, it's gone baby gone. And it would have paid for your plane ticket around the world to dispense of the collection differently.
Appraisers: Appraisers are useful, but you pay for their services, sometimes by the piece and sometimes by the hour. Appraisers will help you to not leave money on the table by identifying rare and valuable items that they are paid to appraise. The down side is that they can be expensive, the upside is that they could spot something worth thousands. Appraisers are kind of like accountants who pay for their services by saving you from making costly mistakes.
Pawn shops: The up side of a pawn shop is that if you have silver and if they're honest about the fact that it is silver, you'll walk away with cash on the spot. The down side is that you're going to give the pawn shop most of the money. They typically take as much as 90% of the value of a piece of silver and leave you with about 10%. I strongly advise you not to go to a pawn shop unless you are desperate and need to feed your kids or urgently pay for medical services.
Coin Shops: Coin shops are usually a little better than pawn shops, but sometimes not much. See above.
Refiner: Some refiners pay as much as 90% of the melt value of the pure silver contained in your item. Then they melt it down. This is fine when the silver is factory made silver from the 20th century. Most of this type of silver is only worth just slightly above its melt value. Large flatware sets or items made by big name manufacturers like Tiffany and Cartier are the exceptions. That said, silver that is older, made by hand by a silversmith should not get melted down by a refiner. This type of silver is almost always worth quite a bit more in its original state unless badly damaged. Even then, some silver is actually worth repairing and restoring before sale.
Take it to Auction: Some people opt to auction off silver collections. The auction house takes a cut, usually anywhere from 25-40%. And they charge a buyer's commission on the other side. Those are some of the reasons that prices at auction are typically lower-- even half what they are in a retail setting.
Consignment: Consignment is a way to sell. Most shops take around 20% of the sale price and the sale price usually drops over set intervals until items sell. This is an ok way to sell, but you may not get the price you are hoping.
Antique dealers: If you've got a friend in the business, this is a great route! Or, if you can find a dealer you trust, a great option. I recommend, if you are selling that you get a couple of opinions and estimates. Make sure to have clear pictures of items and their marks to show them. Don't waste their time though. Antique dealers are busy and they have long memories. Remember, even the best antique dealer cannot pay you anywhere close to full retail for anything they buy. They have to earn a living too. Antique dealers will usually pay 50% or sometimes less for the items they purchase. Antique dealers pay a lot of overhead, so they can never pay full value. It's helpful for antiques dealers if you have a price in mind when you come. Consider it a starting place to negotiate.
Do it yourself: If you have the the time, this is a great route. You can usually achieve about 70-85% of an item's value depending on how you sell it. For example, sites like Etsy or EBay (~18%) or other online venues typically take a percentage of every sale and charge listing fees. That's why you won't make 100%. Remember you have to take on the shipping costs as well-- and this can be expensive if you're shipping across the world to say Australia. It takes a lot longer-- sometimes many years to sell a silver collection. You need to take the time to learn how to clean and polish the silver carefully, and you need to learn how to read the marks on it, identify it, and value it. So many times, people will post an item on line that is so far above the market value that it never sells, or so low that they've left money on the table.
Keep it. If you have space for your parents' or grandparents' silver collection, just keep it. Use it, polish it, cherish it. Remember, as you keep it, it will get older, rarer, and more valuable. Owning silver is a great investment. If you don't believe me, go look up the prices on 18th century silver items. Your pieces will appreciate similarly as long as they are well cared for.
It's very easy to miss things worth hundreds and hundreds. Feel free to contact DC Silver if you need advice. It's possible I will offer to buy part or all of your collection paying more than many of the venues above.