Holy hell I just saw that silver is $45 an ounce!!!
When I was in Houston last week, my parents dragged out a paper bag with some old silverware in it. Didn't know if it was sterling or silver plated; my great aunt had given it to them for their 25th wedding anniversary. She had gotten it years before as a bequest from an old Jewish woman friend.
It's sterling silver. A couple of pounds of it.
There are 3 forks from one pattern and a bunch of pieces from a totally different pattern. The knives have silverplated steel blades (sharp!) and sterling handles, and a couple of the knife blades are broken. One pattern has "1895" and some sliversmith marks on the back, and the other has "1897" and some marks and a name that I don't remember.
How does one go about selling something like that? It may be worth a lot more than the scrap value. But just as scrap it's probably over $1000 right now. (BTW, their 25th anniversary I think was during the Hunt Brothers silver bubble. It was probably a more generous gift at the time than anyone imagined.
My dad really needs a golf cart to get around his property but won't buy one cuz they cost over $1000. This could be a good way for me to buy him one.