Here are your top 5 tips to remember before selling your silver flatware in San Diego.

1) Identify whether it actually is made of sterling silver, and not just silver plated. If it is genuine sterling silver flatware, the word “sterling” will be on the flatware. That is, unless it is an antique manufactured prior to 1860.

2) Identify the maker, era, and any patterns; then go online and research the popularity of each. Collectors often focus only one particular kind of item. So you need to know if your flatware falls into an in-demand niche.

3) Don’t be overly concerned about signs of use. Slight damage on antique flatware does not significantly reduce its value. If the silverware is tarnished though be sure to have the tarnish removed, as tarnish will significantly lower the price. If any of your flatware pieces have been modified that will also lower the price.

4) Beware of forgeries. Just because your silver flatware is old, doesn’t mean that it is authentic or worth a lot of money. Forged maker’s marks have been appearing for hundreds of year.

5) Before selling your silver flatware, polish it with a soft polishing cloth and a non-abrasive polish. Wear cotton gloves and dry your flatware as soon as possible after cleaning. Don’t put your silverware in the dishwasher!

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Now that you’ve learned a few tips about selling silver flatware in San Diego, it would probably be a good idea to read this article: How San Diego Pawn Shops Work.

This Week’s Gold Seller Question:

What is a good price for dental gold scraps by the gram?

Answer From: San Diego Jewelry Buyers

Depending on the gold purity of your dental scraps, we would be paying you roughly between $10.00 and $20.00 per gram. Let me explain how that works: Dental gold scraps can vary in actual karat rating (gold purity) from between 40% gold content all the way up to as high as 80%. So, for example, if gold is trading on the market at $900 per troy ounce, and your scraps tested at 40% gold purity, then we would be paying you $9.83 per gram. If your scraps tested at 80% gold purity, then we would be paying you $19.67. These figures are calculated at 85% of gold’s current trading price, to leave room for operating and refining costs, and to cover risk of gold prices taking a sudden drop. These figures are based on the assumption that you have only a small quantity of gold (less than one ounce), but in case you have a lot of dental gold we sometimes pay higher for larger quantities.

We tell customers that the best thing to do is come into our office so that we can test the karat rating of their dental gold scraps, and let us make them an offer. There is no obligation to sell to us, and we offer this service free of charge. We’re available any time from 9:00 AM till 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, no appointment necessary. Our office is located at 861 Sixth Avenue (between E Street and F Street), in the Jewelers Exchange Building, downtown San Diego (in the Gaslamp District). We’re at the far right corner of the ground floor, suite number 125. Please ask for Carl Blackburn. You may call ahead if you’d like, to let us know what time you’ll be coming in, our telephone number is (619) 236-9603.

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Here at the San Diego Luxury Pawn Shop Report we are always looking for unusal news stories that jewelry lovers might be intrigued or surprised by. Here’s a good item: Lesotho Unearths 478 Carat Diamond!