Are you among the many who have been captivated by the allure of weighted silver? Perhaps you've inherited a set of candelabras that seem to promise a treasure trove of precious metal, or maybe you're considering recycling your silverware for some extra cash. Whatever your situation, it's essential to understand the reality behind weighted silver and its value.

Precious metals can be found in old dental appliances, especially in old crowns, bridges, porcelain-to-metal facings, fillings, and gold wire.

How much gold, silver and other precious metals can you find in dental scrap, and what kind of appliances should you be looking for? Let’s break it all down by looking at the precious metals that have been used to make dental appliances.

Are coins and bullion bars good investments? In today’s post, you will learn what you need to know to make a good decision about whether to sink your money into these popular investments. 

Inherited items can sometimes be worth more than people expect. There are several reasons for this:

Rarity and collectability - Items that are rare, unique, or have historical significance can be valuable. People may not always be aware of the rarity or historical importance of an item they inherit.

There are times when you inherit a piece of jewelry or a watch that holds great value for you because it belonged to someone you loved. When that happens, you put it away somewhere safe and take it out and wear it on special occasions. You would never think of selling it. 

With the Help of Specialty Metals, You Can Make Money Collecting Silver Contacts from the 1980s and 90s. Here’s What You Need to Know

Old telescopes often feature various components made of gold and silver. Here are some common uses of these metals in vintage telescopes.

If you have a quantity of silver scrap you want to sell, chances are your first step will be to visit a silver refinery near you. After all, these companies, which you can find with a quick online search, are convenient. You can drive right up to them, walk in with your silver scrap, and start negotiating. 

But is that a good way to get the highest payout for your silver scrap? And how will they process your scrap and pay you if you decide to use their services?

Thanksgiving is a holiday when people suddenly rediscover a lot of half-forgotten items that are made of sterling silver. You could pull out those items, give them a quick look, and then stick them back in cupboards until next year, but you could also set them aside and recycle them. So keep your eyes open and be on the lookout for silver items that you can recycle. The more items you can set aside the more money you can net from recycling them to reclaim the silver they contain.

If you are cleaning out a house, don’t make the mistake of tossing items that contain gold, silver, or other valuable metals. Here’s a checklist of the places you should be sure to look.

Here at Specialty Metals, we are big fans of precious metals. Why? Because we have had the privilege of helping customers realize remarkable profits by reclaiming gold, silver, and platinum from precious metal scrap of all kinds.

Yes, we are enthusiastic about investing in precious metals. But our enthusiasm stops short when we hear from clients who have gotten carried away and bought precious metal items and scrap that they shouldn’t have.

Here are some categories of precious metal items that are unwise investments because they promise very little, if any, return on the dollars invested.

There is a story behind every business that closes and liquidates its fixtures, equipment, supplies and assets. Sometimes the story is sad because a business failed. Sometimes it was in an industry that was no longer profitable. Sometimes the owner retired, and that is not a sad story.

If you take a look at your computer and work area, you will notice a major trend that has changed just about everything about the way you work, store data, use software, store videos and pictures, and more . . .

Most of what you do is now taking place on the cloud, not on your computer and local storage devices

When you’re poking around an antique mall one day, you see a display of jewelry – rings, pins and other small items. All the pins and rings and other items you see are bright and shiny, except one. It’s a small cross on a chain, and it looks dull, chalky gray and tarnished.

So what are your eyes telling you? They are telling you that that cross is made of silver, while the other items on display are not. You see, silver tarnishes, while gold, platinum, titanium and other metals that are commonly used to make jewelry do not.

Silver is currently trading for over $20 per Troy Ounce on the London Fix. That seems like a ridiculously low trading price when you consider the trading prices of Rhodium, palladium, gold, and platinum.

It is tempting to say, “What, 20 bucks an ounce? Why even consider investing in silver?”

But don’t cross silver off your list of potential precious metal investments. The fact is, there really is a simple strategy for making a good return trading in silver:

When a community pool reopened in a suburban town a few weeks ago, a pool service was called in to service the filtration system. Usually, servicing the pool is pretty routine. But this year, the technicians found more jewelry in the system than usual – jewelry that swimmers had lost last year. There were two platinum engagement rings, a bunch of earrings, and pieces of costume jewelry. And when the technicians removed a perforated drain cover from the floor of the pool, they found still more jewelry.

You have items lying around your house that contains valuable precious metals. Other people in your community have them too.

So, here’s a simple idea for a way to help your favorite cause – whether it’s a school, a religious institution, a hospital, or your favorite charity . . .

At Specialty Metals and Refiners, we can recover silver from a number of different liquids, including these:

• Paints

• Printing inks

• Chemicals that were used to process photographic and x-ray films

• Chemicals that were used in a number of industrial processes

• Used electrolytic chemicals that were used in electroplating processes

One good thing about gold, silver, and platinum is that those metals are malleable and easy to reshape.

However, malleability can cause problems, because stolen items made of gold can be easily altered and sold. That neat little gold bar or pair of earrings you just bought could have been a stolen ring only a few weeks ago. Who knows? It is impossible to trace. And the same problem exists when you are buying items made of silver or platinum.

If you look at trends in precious metal prices over the last decade, you will notice that prices have risen steadily. There have been some ups and downs, but prices have generally trended up.

If you then look at the trading prices of stocks and mutual funds, you will see a much different pattern. Some stocks have risen steadily in value, sometimes dramatically so. But you will see that other stocks have fallen dramatically in value and, in some cases, the companies that issued them have simply ceased to exist.