Why junk coins sell for silver content, Sterling doesnt?

[Silver Surfer]

My wife and I have several old pieces of Sterling that we have worked hard to restore, thinking that they would be valuable as antiques, but also simply for silver content. Seems that "junk" coins sell for a decent price (above melt) on ebay, but if you look at all the sterling silver flatware, dinnerware, and items such as candleholders, etc., no one is buying them... Why?
Sterling Silver is .925 pure silver, so I figured the melt value alone would cause this stuff to sell... Isnt the case and I am confused... Any theories

 

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[homefires]

Only thing I can think of is the Crazy shipping prices people want.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I thought that too, but there were tons of examples where the minimum bid PLUS shipping was still way below melt value..

 

[homefires]

I don't see any weights of the Items posted.

How would you know Silver Content.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I don't see any weights of the Items posted.

How would you know Silver Content.

Heh heh..... Yeah, that is a good question... I should have added that I found several items like the ones we have and I know the weights of what I have, so an educated assumption.. The candlestick holders we have are pretty thick, and even taking away the weight added for stabilization, there is still several ounces there.
My wife did such a beautiful job restoring them though that I would never melt them down... I will post a pic of them later today...