I just got off the phone with a local "We Buy Gold & Silver" place (a jewelry store in Plano). They have a $60 coupon on $500 of sales, and I thought it might be a good time to unload some of my sterling rounds. If they buy at 10% back from spot, that cancels out perfectly. During the call, the proprietor repeatedly referred to sterling as 90% silver. Now, maybe I'm just having an off day, but isn't sterling a pretty consistent 92.5%? I'm not talking about something from 'Bubba's Mint' or "Italian Sterling" necklaces (which are typically 80% or less due to weak laws in Italy and lax enforcement of those same laws). But, has anyone gotten any firsthand experience smelting Franklin mint or Longines/Wittnauer pieces?
I'm guessing you'll be really lucky to get 10% back of spot from them. The place near me says they'll sell 90% silver coins at spot; if they're making enough of a profit to stay in business, I'll bet they're paying 30% below spot, maybe less. You're right, sterling is defined as 92.5%. Coin silver is only 90%, but you can get more for it, because its composition is known. That other 7.5% in sterling can include all sorts of odd stuff, making it more expensive to refine. Just because the proprietor gets his percentages mixed up doesn't mean you'll get any sort of a break on price. They know what their buyers pay for sterling and for coin silver, and they'll pay you only enough to preserve their profit margin. I really doubt that they'll offer a coupon that causes them to run a loss.
