Sterling Candlestick Holder

[SusanMN]

Picked up a Reed and Barton sterling candlestick holder today at the Goodwill. Someone had picked it up and removed the price sticker. Perhaps they didn’t know that “sterling” meant silver. So I had to ask the manager for a price on it and he barely gave it a glance before saying “$2.99”. Worked for me. These are weighted so hard to know how much silver but definitely more than three dollars worth.

 

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[DigToChina]

Let’s see!

 

[UnderMiner]

Weighted sterling candle sticks are typically 10% sterling by weight. I have processed dozens of them over the years. Reed and Barton is a very high end brand so will likely be slightly higher than 10% as they're typically fancier and thicker sterling in the area where the candle attaches. Great score!

 

[SusanMN]

Let’s see!

Added it.

 

[SusanMN]

Weighted sterling candle sticks are typically 10% sterling by weight. I have processed dozens of them over the years. Reed and Barton is a very high end brand so will likely be slightly higher than 10% as they're typically fancier and thicker sterling in the area where the candle attaches. Great score!

Just curious since I am more at the “disposing“ side of life rather than collecting And have been considering sending a pile of silver stuff to Midwest refineries, Did you turn yours in for scrap? And if so, did you open them up and take out the sand or cement? And is there any in the upper portion?

 

[UnderMiner]

Just curious since I am more at the “disposing“ side of life rather than collecting And have been considering sending a pile of silver stuff to Midwest refineries, Did you turn yours in for scrap? And if so, did you open them up and take out the sand or cement? And is there any in the upper portion?

I collected them for a number of years from various places as well but soon realized they were taking up too much space. Put them on a hard surface (an anvil) and hit them with a hammer. They burst open at the seams like pinatas. Some are full or resin others of plaster. Typically all the cement comes out immediately and you're just left with the sterling shell. The upper portion is full of cement as well and is just as easy to break open. The mess is easy to clean. You then squish the sterling shell flat so all the pieces are together along with the sterling stamp on the bottom so there's no doubt as to what it is. I have a few sacks of these that I will have smelted when I get close to retirement.

 

[SusanMN]

I collected them for a number of years from various places as well but soon realized they were taking up too much space. Put them on a hard surface (an anvil) and hit them with a hammer. They burst open at the seams like pinatas. Some are full or resin others of plaster. Typically all the cement comes out immediately and you're just left with the sterling shell. The upper portion is full of cement as well and is just as easy to break open. The mess is easy to clean. You then squish the sterling shell flat so all the pieces are together along with the sterling stamp on the bottom so there's no doubt as to what it is. I have a few sacks of these that I will have smelted when I get close to retirement.

Thanks! Kills me to smash something so pretty but prices on EBay for silver are low. Using the sledge hammer should be therapeutic though.

 

[kali_is_my_copilot]

Thanks! Kills me to smash something so pretty but prices on EBay for silver are low. Using the sledge hammer should be therapeutic though.

I also think of it is smash therapy! You can also empty sterling knife handles this way.

 

[silverdollarbill]

One thing to mention is the silver is super thin and sharp. Wear gloves when scrapping candlesticks. Also, I would wear glasses too. I hit one with a hammer one time, it jumped up, and a piece of silver cut me right thru the tip of my nose. The main body and stand splits easily but often there are parts that are tuff. I mostly use a vice now.

 

[tamrock]

One thing to mention is the silver is super thin and sharp. Wear gloves when scrapping candlesticks. Also, I would wear glasses too. I hit one with a hammer one time, it jumped up, and a piece of silver cut me right thru the tip of my nose. The main body and stand splits easily but often there are parts that are tuff. I mostly use a vice now.

I take the top bottom piece off first because they peel of pretty easy and then put the rest filled with pitch in the freezer. Once it's frozen that pitch fill is like peanut brittle. I hold it over the trash can and one solid smack with screw driver handle that fill shatters into pieces along with the support rod generally all at once. Then I drop the silver all on the concrete floor of the garage and stomp on it with my boot.