Sterling silver is solid silver through and through — 92.5% pure silver bonded with 7.5% copper for strength, stamped 925 or STERLING. Silver-plated items have a base metal core (usually copper, brass, or nickel-silver alloy) with a thin silver coating applied by electroplating. At spot silver of $60.73 per troy ounce (October 7, 2026), the difference matters: a solid sterling piece has real scrap value; a plated piece has essentially none.
The Key Difference in One Table
| Property | Sterling silver | Silver plated |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | 92.5% silver throughout | Base metal core, thin silver skin |
| Typical stamps | 925, STERLING, STER | EPNS, EP, A1, Sheffield Plate, no stamp |
| Melt value | Yes — worth ~$1.81/g at current spot | Negligible — silver layer too thin to recover |
| Tarnish behavior | Tarnishes uniformly; polishes back fully | Tarnishes, then reveals base metal when plating wears |
| Weight feel | Heavier than similarly sized plated item | Lighter; sounds less resonant when tapped |
| Best for | Scrap, heirloom, fine jewelry | Fashion, decorative, short-term use |
Stamps That Identify Each Type
Solid sterling:
- 925 — the international fineness standard
- STERLING or STER — US and UK text marks
- STG — abbreviated form
- 800 or 900 — lower-purity solid silver (Continental or coin silver)
- 999 — fine silver, purer than sterling
Silver plated (look for these to rule out solid silver):
- EPNS — Electroplated Nickel Silver (most common on flatware and older pieces)
- EP — Electroplated
- EPBM — Electroplated Britannia Metal (pewter-like base)
- A1 — a plating thickness grade used in British silverplate, not a silver purity mark
- Sheffield Plate — early fused plate (pre-1840); made by mechanically bonding silver to copper, not electroplating. Has some collector value but different from modern sterling.
- Silver on copper or silver on brass — sometimes spelled out on antique pieces
“Nickel silver,” “German silver,” or “Alpacca” contain no silver at all — they are copper-nickel-zinc alloys. The word “silver” refers to the color, not the content.
Four Tests You Can Do Without a Lab
1. Stamp search
Use a 10x loupe and examine the clasp, the inside of a ring band, or the back of a pendant. Look for the stamps listed above. A 925 or STERLING mark is a strong indicator but not proof — counterfeits exist.
2. Magnet test
Both sterling and silver-plated items are typically non-magnetic. If a piece clings to a strong magnet, it has a steel core — which is neither sterling nor typical plating. This test is better at ruling things out than ruling things in.
3. Look at wear points
Check spots where the piece rubs against skin or surfaces — the inside of a ring shank, the face of a bangle, or the back of a flatware handle. Sterling tarnishes uniformly. Plated items show a different color (usually copper-pink or brass-yellow) where the plating has worn through. This is the fastest visual tell on older pieces.
4. Acid test
A drop of dilute nitric acid (sold in home test kits) on a scratch or an inconspicuous area:
- Sterling produces a cream-white reaction (silver nitrate).
- Plated pieces, once through the silver layer, produce a green reaction (copper) or other base-metal colors.
Apply acid to a worn spot where the base metal may already be exposed, or make a fresh scratch first. See how to test silver at home for full instructions and safety precautions.
Why the Value Gap Is So Large
A typical sterling silver teaspoon weighs about 25–40 grams. At $1.81/g for sterling:
- 30g spoon: melt value ≈ $54.30
A silver-plated teaspoon of the same size weighs about 20–35 grams but has only a few microns of silver over a base metal core. A micron-thick coating of silver over 30 g of copper adds a negligible fraction of a cent in silver content. Refiners do not recover silver from plated cutlery because the processing cost exceeds the metal recovered.
The practical implication: if you inherit a collection of silverware, the difference between “sterling” and “silver plate” on each piece is the difference between real money and decorative metal. Sort by stamps first.
Special Cases
Gold vermeil: A 925-marked piece that appears gold-colored. Vermeil is sterling coated with at least 2.5 microns of gold (per FTC rules). The base is solid sterling, so it does have silver scrap value — though less than a solid gold piece of the same apparent gold color.
Weighted sterling: Some sterling candlesticks and trophy bases are filled with pitch, cement, or lead to add stability. The outside is real 925 silver, but most of the weight is filler. Marked pieces will say “weighted” or “reinforced.” The silver content is far less than the total weight suggests; calculate from the wall thickness, not the overall weight.
Sheffield Plate (pre-1840): Made by fusing a layer of silver to a copper sheet, then forming the object. Much thicker silver layer than modern electroplate and sometimes valuable to antique collectors. Look for no stamp (it predates stamping laws), or symbols like a crown or a maker’s mark — not EPNS.
What to Do With Each Type
Sterling: Weigh it, confirm the karat, and use the sterling silver calculator to estimate melt value. Sell to a coin dealer, precious metals refiner, or local jeweler who pays for silver scrap.
Silver plated: Do not sell as scrap silver — you will waste time and may get nothing or a deceptive lowball offer. Look instead at antique value, patterns (Gorham, Reed & Barton, International Silver, and Wallace patterns are collected), or donate/repurpose the pieces.
For help identifying markings on pieces you cannot classify, see how to read jewelry hallmarks.