Silver at 1.82 euros a gram: what cutlery and coins are worth

Cutlery: the hallmark decides

Silver cutlery is rarely pure silver. The hallmark tells you how many parts per thousand it contains, and that makes a big difference. Per kilo of cutlery, at 1.8154 euros per gram of fine silver:

• 925 (sterling) – 1,679.25 euros in material
• 835 – 1,515.86 euros, the most common fineness in Dutch and Belgian cutlery
• 800 – 1,452.32 euros, often found on German cutlery

Note what does not count: knives often have a hollow handle filled with cement, of which only the thin shell is silver. Silver-plated cutlery (marked 90 or 100) is not silver in this sense; it carries only a few grams per piece.

Old coins: guilders and francs

Silver coins are easy to calculate, because weight and fineness are fixed:

• 2½ guilders 1959–1966 – 15 grams, 720/1000: 10.8 grams of silver, 19.61 euros in material
• 10 guilders 1970 and 1973 – 25 grams, 720/1000: 18 grams of silver, 32.68 euros
• 50 francs 1948–1954 (Belgium) – 12.5 grams, 835/1000: 10.44 grams of silver, 18.95 euros

What you are paid lies below the material value: the margin for melting and refining comes off. For coins in especially fine condition the collector's value can exceed the silver; we look at that separately during the valuation.

Check it yourself

Our silver price page shows the rate per fineness, updated every minute, and the calculator converts your weight straight away. If you want certainty about what you have, we weigh and test it free of charge, at a branch or at home.