Silver selling in Hickory is often not a necklace. It is a bank bag of worn dimes or a wooden chest of forks nobody wants to polish. Those two lots confuse people because they look like “junk.” They are not priced from sentimental shine. They are priced from metal — and, sometimes, from dates.
90% “junk silver” is a nickname, not an insult
U.S. dimes, quarters, and halves dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver. Face value (ten cents, twenty-five cents) is trivia. The market cares about silver content. Worn is expected. Cleaning is not helpful. Dumping the bag into a kitchen colander to “pick the pretty ones” is how key dates get treated like bulk.
Sterling flatware is weight plus the mark
Look for sterling, 925, or older coin-silver stamps — not “EPNS,” “silverplate,” or a brand that only ever plated. Tarnish does not disqualify a genuine set. Missing salad forks do not disqualify it either. Plated tea services that look fancy in a china cabinet are the disappointment we would rather name at the counter than after you drive in from Lenoir.
Do not polish coins. Do not soak forks in a miracle dip the morning of the visit. Bring the bag or the chest as it sits. The silver buying page lists what we purchase; this guide is the two lots people second-guess the most.