Sterling

[oldgold]

Question. I was told by my refiner that sterling is not pure silver. Any idea what percentage it is? What is the other part and how do they separate it during the refining process/
thanks.

 

[ivan salis]

sterling is marked "925" meaning its 925 parts out of 1000 pure silver (92.5 %) ---pure silver is 999 parts per 1000 parts pure *(99.9%) thus thus theres a .074 differance per oz differance between the two * in the refining process there is some refining "loss" due to cleaning the silver up to "pure" 999 status -- as they sort the silver from non silver metal.

 

[SnakemanBill]

So does a sterling marked dish with 901 on it mean its 90.1 % silver?

 

[diggummup]

So does a sterling marked dish with 901 on it mean its 90.1 % silver?

901 sounds like a pattern number to me not a silver mark, especially if the piece is already marked sterling. Sterling is sterling; .925 only. Other marks such as .800 or .900 not considered "sterling".