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Precious Metals
Silver Jewelry Scrap
Grade: SicoinHigh Tier
Sterling silver jewelry (92.5% silver) and coin silver
Market Price EstimateUpdated Daily
$28,500/ MT
+1850 (6.9%)vs yesterday
Verified specifications & market data
Chemical Composition
Elemental breakdown by percentage weight.
Standard composition limits
Values represent maximum allowed percentage unless otherwise noted.
Physical Properties
Material form, density, and contamination specifications.
Post-consumer sterling silver jewelry scrap; discarded, broken, or unwanted sterling silver jewelry; estate sale silver jewelry; vintage and antique silverware; collector coins (90% silver US coins); jewelry manufacturing trim and casting waste; established precious metal recycling infrastructure; high-value consumer product waste stream; distributed retail sourcing with retail-aggregation supply chain
Acceptable Inclusions
- Silver 92.5-99.9% (sterling/pure specification)
- Copper <7.5% (sterling hardening element)
- Copper (precious metal; tarnish resistant)
- Gold trace <5% (precious metal; ultra-valuable)
- Platinum trace <2% (precious metal; ultra-valuable)
- Zinc <2% (alloy component)
- Nickel <2% (alloy component)
- Black tarnish oxidation (age expected)
- Gemstones (separated before refining)
Prohibited Materials
- Silver <92.5% (below sterling specification)
- Lead >0.05% (hazmat exceeds ppm-limit)
- Cadmium >0.01% (hazmat exceeds)
- Counterfeit coins or false antiques
- Silver-plated items with minimal silver
- Non-silver metals (aluminum, zinc, nickel absolutely prohibited)
- Unknown purity or composition
- Extensively damaged jewelry (loss of structural integrity)
Quality Assurance
Testing protocols, sampling methods, and acceptance criteria.
Sampling Protocol
frequencyrandom sampling: chains separate, rings separate, flatware separate, coins separate, vintage vs. modern generation; precious trace screening comprehensive
maximumQuantity400+ individual item samples per shipment
minimumQuantity3-15 tonnes or 150-400 individual jewelry/silverware piece samples
percentage25-40% of lot
Acceptance Limits
all Criteria Must PassMaterial must be sterling silver ≥92.5%; hallmarks ; precious traces documented ; hazmat within ppm-tolerance ; -market eligible
alloy IdentificationCopper identified ; gold/platinum trace documented if present
coin Grade If ApplicableCollector coin grades documented if 90% Ag coins present; numismatic assessment if applicable
gemstone SeparationGemstones documented ; separation protocol ; weight adjustment
halmarks VerifiedSterling hallmarks confirmed on majority pieces
hazmat LimitsPb <0.05%, Cd <0.01%; occupational safety
material AuthenticityConfirmed as solid sterling silver; -eligible
silver ContentAg 92.5-99.9%
Weight Tolerance
measurementProfessional scale measurement ; reweighing at refinery ; weight certification accountable
variance±1.5% from purchase order weight
Required Test Methods
100% Visual Inspection & Hallmark Reading
CRITICALABSOLUTEEXTREMEMANDATORY
Purpose
- confirm sterling silver jewelry (925, STERLING hallmarks)
- identify precious metal characteristic appearance
- assess condition
- read hallmarks
- detect counterfeits
Acceptance Criteria
- Sterling hallmarks (925, STERLING) apparent on majority
- silver jewelry characteristic visible
- authenticity apparent visual
- counterfeit risk assessed
Procedure
- 100% visual inspection
- inspect for 925/STERLING hallmarks comprehensive
- verify precious metal appearance characteristic
- read all hallmarks
- assess authenticity visual extreme
- counterfeit detection assessment
Purity Classification by Hallmark & Item Type
CRITICALEXTREME
Purpose
- categorize by silver purity (92.5%, 95%, 99%, 90% coins specific)
- identify item type (chains/rings/flatware/coins)
- sort for optimal refining LBMA-standard
Acceptance Criteria
- Silver purity confirmed by hallmark
- item type
- correct specification category
- purity fingerprint
Procedure
- Hallmark reading (925, STERLING, other marks)
- item morphology assessment (chain links vs. solid rings vs. flatware)
- fire assay if unclear
- purity classification
Gemstone Assessment
CRITICAL
Purpose
- identify gemstone presence
- assess gemstone type/quantity
- determine separation requirement
- document value impact
- weight adjustment
Acceptance Criteria
- Gemstones documented
- separation protocol
- weight adjustment estimated
- value impact
Procedure
- Visual gemstone inspection
- estimate gemstone quantity/type
- assess separation difficulty (easy vs. difficult)
- weight adjustment calculation if heavy gemstone content
- value assessment separate
Precious Metal Composition Assessment
CRITICALEXTREMEMANDATORY
Purpose
- verify silver 92.5-99.9%
- quantify copper (hardening element)
- identify precious traces (gold/platinum ultra-valuable)
- identify sterling character
Acceptance Criteria
- Silver within sterling specification
- alloy composition identified
- precious traces documented EXPLICIT if present
- LBMA eligibility
Procedure
- Fire assay (traditional precious metal standard )
- XRF calibrated jewelry assay
- quantify silver/copper/precious traces
- hallmark cross-validation
Gold & Platinum Trace Detection
CRITICALEXTREME
Purpose
- detect gold/platinum trace (ultra-high value
- 5-10% of value concentration extreme if present)
- assess precious metal combination value
- identify specialty jewelry
Acceptance Criteria
- Gold/platinum documented
- trace composition quantified
- specialty jewelry classification CONFIRMED if applicable
- value impact assessed
Procedure
- XRF spectrometry SENSITIVE (gold/platinum detection parts-per-thousand precision)
- fire assay confirmation if substantial quantities
- ultra-precious value assessment
Hazmat Screening
MANDATORYCRITICAL
Purpose
- detect lead <0.05% and cadmium <0.01% (ppm-level precious metal standard)
- assess occupational hazmat risk
Acceptance Criteria
- Lead <0.05%, Cadmium <0.01%
- hazmat within ppm-precision
- occupational safety
Procedure
- XRF spectrometry ppm-level precision OR ICP-AES ultra-sensitive
- ppm-level sensitivity for precious metal standard
- hazmat element quantification
Collector Coin Grading
CRITICAL
Purpose
- if 90% silver collector coins present, assess coin grade (MS, XF, VF grades)
- determine numismatic premium vs. melt value
- grade documentation
Acceptance Criteria
- Coin grades documented
- numismatic vs. melt value assessed
- value optimization
Procedure
- Numismatic grading if coins present (visual assessment rarity/condition)
- market research numismatic premium
- determine optimal processing path (numismatic market vs. refining melt)
Fire Assay
CRITICALEXTREME
Purpose
- precise silver assay (cupellation LBMA-standard)
- exact silver purity to 0.01%
- industry standard precious metal verification
Acceptance Criteria
- Fire assay completed
- silver purity verified to 0.01% LBMA-standard
- precious metal market authenticity
Procedure
- Traditional fire assay cupellation LBMA-standard
- lead-glass recovery professional
- silver weight determination
- precious trace (gold/platinum) assessment
- LBMA certification