What to do with sterling items

[CountryBoy19]

While I can see the value of keeping some silver/gold on-hand I don't necessarily think that's the right thing for me for right now. But I'm going to ask anyways.

I "stole" some sterling silver items from the local goodwill last week. Now, when I say "stole", I don't mean theft, I mean, they didn't mark the prices according to value (they probably didn't know/care that it was sterling). I got 1.375 oz of sterling for $.98 + tax.

It's use as dinner ware (it original purpose) is no longer valid because it is fairly heavily damaged (dents, bends, gouges etc).

I'm just not sure what to do with it to maximize its usefulness to me. While I'm definitely not hurting for liquid cash right now, every bit of cash I can dump into prepping (including paying down debt etc) will be good in the long run. I'm just not sure what to do with it. I wasn't necessarily looking for PMs at goodwill, I just happened to see what appeared to be silver but didn't have the normal look of a silver plating so I took a look and saw it was Sterling. Couldn't pass up ~$30 of silver for just over a dollar OTD.

 

[Spikedog]

You made yourself an easy $30-40!!

 

[BogWalker]

Never thought about this. I bet there's plenty of sterling silver floating around yard sales flea markets and thrift shops. What's the easiest way to tell it from stainless steel?

I'd just sell it for cash personally.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Never thought about this. I bet there's plenty of sterling silver floating around yard sales flea markets and thrift shops. What's the easiest way to tell it from stainless steel?

I'd just sell it for cash personally.

Appearance is the easiest way... but watch for the silver-plate. 99% of what you find will be silver plated and worth practically nothing... In my years of watching garage sales and auctions that I happen upon this is the first time I've ever come across sterling that was not priced at a sterling-silver price. Most people know what they have and price it accordingly. Its very rare that a true piece of sterling slips by the seller and all the other potential buyers and ends up in your lap for a cheap price.

You will develop an eye for silver if you go to a dealer/shop/etc and just oogle over it for a while. Silver has a very unique appearance and silver-plate, in most cases, can be distinguished by look alone but I always check it anyways because sterling can be polished enough that it will appear to be silver-plate. Cheap SS platters etc normally have rolled edgs and very clear tool-marks that indicate it was stamped from a sheet. It also has a sharp, tinny ring to to it while most silver items have a bit more of a dull ring or no ring at all. Basically, you're going to have to handle some side-by-side to get the best feel for the differences and what is real or fake. Also, a lot of the time sterling items will be marked sterling (these items I bought were marked "Gorham Sterling" (Gorham is a well-known maker of sterling and silver-plate items).

 

[snorko]

I keep a plastic jar around and toss in scrap silver as I get it. Typically this is odd flatware like you mention, jewelry, damaged rounds and bars, etc. When it gets to be a good amount AND the price of silver is up a little, I take it to a local guy I deal with and sell or trade for bullion.

 

[BigMatt]

I have only found one item at an antique shop that I got cheap. Usually, they are picked clean before you get to them.

Yard sales are another animal all together...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhTWJhI3n_4

 

[BogWalker]

Been going to yard sales last few days. Silver plate really cheap as far as the eye can see, but I haven't found any gold or sterling yet. I'm sure some of the silver plate has collectors' value but I don't know enough about it to risk buying something that could be worthless.

Definitely bring magnet with you.

 

[spencer rifle]

Use it. Silver tableware is self-sterilizing (at least for bacteria) over time due to the oligodynamic effect. That will be quite valuable on occasions when it will be tougher to clean things.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Use it. Silver tableware is self-sterilizing (at least for bacteria) over time due to the oligodynamic effect. That will be quite valuable on occasions when it will be tougher to clean things.

That's a no-go without some major repair efforts... they won't even stand up very well at this point...

It's use as dinner ware (it original purpose) is no longer valid because it is fairly heavily damaged (dents, bends, gouges etc).

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I'd sell them to preppers and buy ammo. I still can't figure out what people think they're going to do with gold and silver in a without rule of law society except for get out and plenty of things help you get out.

 

[BigMatt]

I'd sell them to preppers and buy ammo. I still can't figure out what people think they're going to do with gold and silver in a without rule of law society except for get out and plenty of things help you get out.

Just use the search function. It has been covered time and time again.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Just use the search function. It has been covered time and time again.

I know what people "say" they are going to do on a forum. Just because it has been covered time and time again doesn't make it any more accurate than a lie that is repeated over and over. That's not what my question was. My question was a challenge to conventional thought on gold. What you can really do in a catastrophe is an entirely different matter. With no market, gold will lose its value VERY fast.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I know what people "say" they are going to do on a forum. Just because it has been covered time and time again doesn't make it any more accurate than a lie that is repeated over and over. That's not what my question was. My question was a challenge to conventional thought on gold. What you can really do in a catastrophe is an entirely different matter. With no market, gold will lose its value VERY fast.

My thoughts exactly... value of said items is a circular reason in most cases. We pay lots of money for gold because it is valuable; gold is valuable because we pay lots of money for it.

In true major SHTF it's relatively worthless. It's only means would be to set up a financial system that used money that had intrinsic value. Gold's worth for SHTF preps is not going to be what most people expect it to be. It will be so you have something left after the dollar collapses and a new currency is established... pure & simples that is the only "value" in gold. Same goes for silver... I'd like to turn my silver into cash and use that cash to buy things that will hold their value and even increase drastically in value if a SHTF were to occur.

 

[draftsman]

I would suggest you hold onto your silverware find until the price goes back up. I have seen people selling silverware, plates, platters, etc in coin shops before. Your story makes me wish i knew the difference between the worthless crap and the real thing.

 

[Lex Concord]

My thoughts exactly... value of said items is a circular reason in most cases. We pay lots of money for gold because it is valuable; gold is valuable because we pay lots of money for it.

In true major SHTF it's relatively worthless. It's only means would be to set up a financial system that used money that had intrinsic value. Gold's worth for SHTF preps is not going to be what most people expect it to be. It will be so you have something left after the dollar collapses and a new currency is established... pure & simples that is the only "value" in gold. Same goes for silver... I'd like to turn my silver into cash and use that cash to buy things that will hold their value and even increase drastically in value if a SHTF were to occur.

The circle isn't there.

Gold has, over thousands of years, been decided by many societies to be a very good "money".

Aside from the quick flash of heat in burning it, the fiat money one pays for worthless gold is worth far less.

Gold has uses beyond money...that said, in a true TEOTWAWKI situation, the value of gold would likely be very low if not nil.

The real question is, how likely is a full-blown TEOTWAWKI situation?

Throughout history, when have things gotten so bad that people stopped accepting precious metals in trade for goods of which they have a surplus on anything resembling a large scale? There may be an instance or more, but I am not aware of any.

Gold is divisible, durable, portable, of limited supply, noncounterfeitable, recognizable and, most importantly for humans, shiny (we're like raccoons that way).

While you can't eat it, can't grow food in it, can't drink it, and can't get shelter from it, you can currently trade it for all of those things and more.

The ability to do the same with FRNs or other fiat currencies will end long before that of gold.

While I certainly wouldn't say that folks should buy a bunch of gold and count on trading it for what they need when things get bad, I find it unlikely that it will become worthless.

Look at all that humanity has gone through over the millenia...and gold has still been accepted in exchange for goods and services throughout bad times and good for literally thousands of years.

As far as prep items go, precious metals are gravy...everything else (whatever that means to you) should be well in hand first.

As a value store and a hedge against bad (not TEOTWAWKI) times, gold is a very good move...again, after most of your other ducks are in a grow.

As long as folks think things are bound to get better, they will take gold for what they consider to be excess goods.

 

[CountryBoy19]

The circle isn't there.

Gold has, over thousands of years, been decided by many societies to be a very good "money".

Aside from the quick flash of heat in burning it, the fiat money one pays for worthless gold is worth far less.

Gold has uses beyond money...that said, in a true TEOTWAWKI situation, the value of gold would likely be very low if not nil.

The real question is, how likely is a full-blown TEOTWAWKI situation?

Throughout history, when have things gotten so bad that people stopped accepting precious metals in trade for goods of which they have a surplus on anything resembling a large scale? There may be an instance or more, but I am not aware of any.

Gold is divisible, durable, portable, of limited supply, noncounterfeitable, recognizable and, most importantly for humans, shiny (we're like raccoons that way).

While you can't eat it, can't grow food in it, can't drink it, and can't get shelter from it, you can currently trade it for all of those things and more.

The ability to do the same with FRNs or other fiat currencies will end long before that of gold.

While I certainly wouldn't say that folks should buy a bunch of gold and count on trading it for what they need when things get bad, I find it unlikely that it will become worthless.

Look at all that humanity has gone through over the millenia...and gold has still been accepted in exchange for goods and services throughout bad times and good for literally thousands of years.

As far as prep items go, precious metals are gravy...everything else (whatever that means to you) should be well in hand first.

As a value store and a hedge against bad (not TEOTWAWKI) times, gold is a very good move...again, after most of your other ducks are in a grow.

As long as folks think things are bound to get better, they will take gold for what they consider to be excess goods.

The circle is there... its just a well recognized circle and therefore it holds strong, but as you said, in a TEOTWAWKI situation it will be relatively worthless.

As to the part high-lighted in red. Look at the Bosnia conflict and the Balkan wars. There are many articles etc written by the survivors. They said gold was relatively worthless. They traded multiple ounces of gold jewelry etc for a SINGLE MEAL. That was not a TEOTWAWKI, it was a small, localized SHTF that drug on and outside help couldn't make it in and they couldn't get out. Any similar scenario where supplies of EVERYTHING run low and help can't get to those people gold isn't going to be some miracle save-the-day resource. Food, medicine, guns/ammo, etc will be the save-the-day.

The physical resources that hold their value the best are the things we need to survive daily. My only point is that I'm not at the point in my life where I have a huge surplus of money that I need to hedge it with precious metals. I need to prepare with items that will be useful in a SHTF.

Bottom line is gold is preparing your for financial stability after a SHTF is over while necessities/preps are preparing you to make it through the SHTF. The gold won't do you any good if you don't have the preps to get you through. IMHO gold is one of the last things a person should be buying as a prep. If they are buying gold as a prep then they should have everything else squared away to endure a pretty bad SHTF.