Your Thoughts on my silver Cache

[JWFilips]

Hi Folks,
As you know I was a Professional Commercial Photographer for 50 Years & During that time I electrolyzed at least 25 Years of B&W film fixer for the entire studio output.
That has left me with a number of pounds of Granular Pure silver I recovered ( Since I was the only one smart enough to do it when I was told it was time to dump it down the drain!)
I have Smelted small amounts of it in the past in a ladle with Mapp gas...& it made a blob or to to fashion into Inlays for the Flintlocks I was building.
Since the Silver market looks promising in the future What would you guys suggest I do to make it in to silver ingots without breaking the bank on smelting ovens.

 

[JWinAZ]

I just ran across this. Theodore Gray writes very interesting books. He used a jewelers electric crucible, maybe too small for your application? Maybe could shoot it patched in a smoothbore for vampires?

He describes making the cherry and using graphite for the mold blocks.

 

[JWFilips]

Well I don't think I need those in NEPA but I do need it in my bank!

 

[JonB]

I'd ask some recyclers in your area if they'd take "number of pounds of Granular Pure silver" as is, and what price. Another option would be to advertise it toward the market of DIY silversmiths.

 

[fiver]

dang it man,,, a lapidary ?? [a smaller foundry will usually clean it for a price]
one of those places, they'll smelt it for you give you a total and pay you spot price for the cleaned [they clean it] pure silver.

the guys on those gold shows take their stuff to one.
for instance they'll show a weigh at the end of the show,, only thing is the Yukon gold is only like 85-90% gold with the rest impurities.
they don't get a final until it's been processed.

 

[Mitty38]

Yep I would definitely price selling it in its raw form.
We buy a lot of metals at work. We pay just as much for stuff in its base if not more then Ingot or sow.
Ingot is often tampered with or filled. So unless we know the source we don't prefer ingot over scrap. I can look at a can and say yep that is filtered ADC12 without testing. Can't do that with an ingot.
People are known to be dishonest when dealing with scrap that cannot be easily ID'd. I would imagined it would be much the same or even more so with silver.

We alloy metals then make and sell ingot, and sow. But we are analyzing it. Supplying certification papers with it. Plus sending it out for a second test at an outside source. Often sending samples ahead of time so the customer can get them tested too. It's a very dishonest world.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Mitty38 brings up excellent points but the real question might be when do you want to sell it and how? You don't have to sell it all at one time.

Converting what the OP has into some ingot form would allow for easier storage and potentially more options on potential buyers. The trick is not spending too much money in the process of making ingots.

While I agree with Mitty38 that there are dishonest people dealing with scrap, the buyer and seller are on equal footing in that process. Both parties have a responsibility to ensure they are getting a fair deal.

Small ingots would likely be better. A buyer is more likely to take a chance on 1 oz of unknown silver than 1 pound.
Maybe make some 1 oz ingots and some 10 oz ingots. When a buyer (or several buyers) gain trust in JW, they will be more willing to buy larger amounts.
Wait for the market and sell when the price is high. Again, multiple ingots may be better.

 

[Missionary]

Do be cautious selling. You can sell US silver coins and no issues. That is US Currency.
But ingots. That is a business and all tax rules for making a profit apply.
We looked into both forms years ago. We asked a tax man we knew and he gave us the straight story. So keep good records. The "cleaning process" you have done needs be documented.
And do be cautious with State regs also. We discovered a business license could be needed plus all the taxing states love to receive.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

That is a business and all tax rules for making a profit apply.

Occasionally disposing of property is not a business.

And I’m certain that by the time he converts his scrap silver into ingots, his expenses will miraculously just about equal any potential profit he derives from those CASH sales…………

 

[imashooter2]

My wife's Father imported precious stones and made high end custom jewelry. They would collect their gold filings and polishing dust and ship it to a refiner that would clean, make ingots, and send it back with certification papers. That might be worthwhile for you as I’m sure it would be a lot easier to get spot prices for certified ingots than homemade “trust me" castings.

Unfortunately I have no idea the name of the service used. Shouldn’t be too hard to research though.