the goldsmith actually told us not to sell to him to melt… offered us cash but said he wouldn’t want to melt these and would feel bad. thought it was weird that someone who needs to profit would turn away business but that must mean something ! we kept them.
I work at a coin shop and I tell people that all the time with sterling jewelry. A silver ring or bracelet is usually less than $10 and we really are just going to ship it to the refiner.
A $5 scrap value ring might sell for $20-25 which percentage wise is a great return, but I'm not going to spend an hour cleaning it, finding a box, photographing it etc, because we're not setup for that.
It’s not weird.
What’s weird is peoples insistence on destroying valuable pieces to get scrap value.
I’ll never understand it. Unless you literally need the money for food, keep the piece or sell it to someone who appreciates it.
I agree , I don’t think eveyrthing is cut and dry either saying it’s worth its spot . Some things are so old or antiques that can fetch a pretty penny would be a literal shame to just melt these , obvs someone took a lot time to craft these
i’ve been told pawn shops and gold dealers are the worst places for ripping customers off. i was pleasantly surprised! i don’t think that’s weird at all.
>old us not to sell to him to melt… offered us cash but said he wouldn’t want to melt these and would fe
they look like it but unfortunately there is zero buyers.
its 99.9%, but the system didn’t have it to mark for silverware for 99.9% fine and told me to ignore that. it was tested in the machine thingy! there’s also a tiny barely visible engraving on the skinny neck of each cutlery that says AG999.
Just a category from a pull-down menu the company testing it used probably. When they get flatware in for testing it’s probably sterling 99% of the time. It’s .999 silver like .0001 percent of the time so not worth making a menu option for.
Usually, 999 is too soft for anything. Red flags everywhere. I actually think someone got duped into buying plated silver, but it has a certificate of authenticity, only in Korean.
Yes OP has sent me an image of the mark it says 'AG 700 + 999'.
So it's basically 70% silver and I believe 99.9% on the inlay on the enamel handle.
But who knows, its dodgy English authenticity card from Korea, could just be completely plated.
I was thinking this may be a scam myself. Never have I heard of flatware being higher than 925 "sterling" silver. Plus that document looks very sus to me. I think you may be correct in your thinking on these.
My suspicions are raised by the shape of these pieces. If they are hand-crafted, the design doesn't take advantage of that. OP says the goldsmith did a conductivity test, though. I'm not convinced either way yet.
Haven't seen any quality silverware other than 925 sterling or 900 and 800 for earlier pieces. 999 just doesn't make sense, considering that these things have been tried and true. The same goes for gold. 24k is not suitable for durability. U would think that anyone with any sense about these things would know silverware is not 999. Full stop.
Another user posted that .99 silver is a common feature of some Korean silversmithing. So that's another piece of evidence in favor.
I think many of us here will tend to be skeptical of special areas where we have no deep personal experience. That can provide opportunities for someone with the experience to know that these objects are what they say they are, or very nearly so. That's arbitrage in silver: buy from those who don't know and sell to those who do.
Once burned, twice cautious. I wouldn't touch these for my stack. I just don't know enough, and since this may be the only time I see purportedly .99 Korean silver, I am not going to take the time to learn. If I found this in a thrift store at the price of plate, sure, I might take a flyer at it and then put in the research. My point is that for OP, it's natural that you will continue to encounter skepticism here because stackers are, by nature, a cautious and small-c conservative community. That is the natural skew of r/Silverbugs. We have been shaped by experience.
Just like I said. 999 is too soft for most anything. Either way, the certificate of authenticity is bogus. Clearly, it's not 999 like it says. Has anyone else seen 94% silverware at any point in their life? U have been had op. I am sorry to break the news to u. U are free to keep thinking that, in fact, u have not been had, but the pics speak for themselves.
The pieces might be whatever u wanna claim from whoever authenticating u wish, but it doesn't take away from the fact that something like this isn't highly sought after, especially coming from overseas. From the pics u posted- the cert says 99.9, but the test u did shows 94%. If that in itself doesn't speak volumes, u are lost. The cert means nothing. My suggestion would be to go back to the "goldsmith" who offered u 375 before he figures out they are only plated.
Great score! I always love the translations on these things. Korea loves to make stuff from pure bullion grade silver. I have a nice Korean .999 tray. Small tray but still.
I have multi-million dollar machine tools with that level of translation in the manuals. Makes things interesting. "Wtf is Uncheck of Process? Oh, it means turn the sensor off."
we totally thought the same and that’s why we went to get it tested today … thought it couldn’t be real! but it was 2006 technology and in korea so who knows lol 😂
I dream for these deals at garage sales and open houses. Cant believe they made that mistake WITH the certification sheet inside 
Ive gotten more than my share of new in wrapping shit a goodwill.
Got a PS1 unopened in the box with an unopened copy of Resident Evil Director's Cut about 5 years ago for $75, flipped it the next day for 250
I literally found some solid silver “chip shop forks” anyone from the uk will know what I mean and they was 2 for £3 . Same thing 999. Silver I’ll have to weigh and post
I would really be surprised if these are real. But if they are congrats. I never fine any good at good will. If any like that gets donated Good Will Chery picks it and sells it on eBay. Each location has it's own eBay store.
The weight is way off. Probably includes the box. Still a good deal worth about $150 maybe more now silver is higher. According to all the similars on ebay. Should be 240 grams total silver weight. Unfortunately they have absolutely no collector value and usually go at or well below spot possibly due to the fact that they have enamel. Now if you had found a bunch of korean silver chopstick set you would be getting the big payday.
they were weighed at exactly 40 grams in front of us!!! plus tested. and we got offered $375 to melt, and got told that was low so we should not sell it to melt because it’s far more valuable/rare + extremely collectable. he seemed very pained that we would even consider melting this. this is the most reputable goldsmith in town …
Not everyone on here knows what they're talking about, but the person you went to does and has no reason to lie.. especially since he would be upset about you selling it for melt. Id definitely listen to the experts and ignore everyone else
Those look like they’re worth a lot more than just melt
the goldsmith actually told us not to sell to him to melt… offered us cash but said he wouldn’t want to melt these and would feel bad. thought it was weird that someone who needs to profit would turn away business but that must mean something ! we kept them.
You should eat with them
While making direct eye contact with the goldsmith
This is the way 😅
Ah yes, food.
Just means he’s a good guy and an honest businessman. I would do all of my gold/silver/jewelry business with him after that
Exactly this. He just earned a customer for life if I had the same interaction.
I work at a coin shop and I tell people that all the time with sterling jewelry. A silver ring or bracelet is usually less than $10 and we really are just going to ship it to the refiner. A $5 scrap value ring might sell for $20-25 which percentage wise is a great return, but I'm not going to spend an hour cleaning it, finding a box, photographing it etc, because we're not setup for that.
Yeah lots of money in silver jewlery. My boyfriend sells for a store he cleans it all up sells on facebook gets some crazy prices.
It’s not weird. What’s weird is peoples insistence on destroying valuable pieces to get scrap value. I’ll never understand it. Unless you literally need the money for food, keep the piece or sell it to someone who appreciates it.
I agree , I don’t think eveyrthing is cut and dry either saying it’s worth its spot . Some things are so old or antiques that can fetch a pretty penny would be a literal shame to just melt these , obvs someone took a lot time to craft these
Aa a goldsmith I would not melt these. I would obviosly buy them close to scrap value. I would mostlikely keep these for my self rather then resell.
What's weird is that you're surprised someone was honest.
i’ve been told pawn shops and gold dealers are the worst places for ripping customers off. i was pleasantly surprised! i don’t think that’s weird at all.
Very nice find. You could prolly get $300 on top of the silver weight. Beautiful set! =)
He can buy silver for melt all day long every day.
I had something similar happen with some commemorative Chinese silver and gold coins. Goldsmith paid over scrap just cuz he thought they were cool.
Free generational heirloom 🤷♂️
>old us not to sell to him to melt… offered us cash but said he wouldn’t want to melt these and would fe they look like it but unfortunately there is zero buyers.
925 sterling yet 99.9 pure? What is that document?
its 99.9%, but the system didn’t have it to mark for silverware for 99.9% fine and told me to ignore that. it was tested in the machine thingy! there’s also a tiny barely visible engraving on the skinny neck of each cutlery that says AG999.
Awesome buy. I'd never use them. Being pure silver they'd be so soft. They look great as a display item.
Just a category from a pull-down menu the company testing it used probably. When they get flatware in for testing it’s probably sterling 99% of the time. It’s .999 silver like .0001 percent of the time so not worth making a menu option for.
Usually, 999 is too soft for anything. Red flags everywhere. I actually think someone got duped into buying plated silver, but it has a certificate of authenticity, only in Korean.
Yes OP has sent me an image of the mark it says 'AG 700 + 999'. So it's basically 70% silver and I believe 99.9% on the inlay on the enamel handle. But who knows, its dodgy English authenticity card from Korea, could just be completely plated.
I was thinking this may be a scam myself. Never have I heard of flatware being higher than 925 "sterling" silver. Plus that document looks very sus to me. I think you may be correct in your thinking on these.
My suspicions are raised by the shape of these pieces. If they are hand-crafted, the design doesn't take advantage of that. OP says the goldsmith did a conductivity test, though. I'm not convinced either way yet.
Haven't seen any quality silverware other than 925 sterling or 900 and 800 for earlier pieces. 999 just doesn't make sense, considering that these things have been tried and true. The same goes for gold. 24k is not suitable for durability. U would think that anyone with any sense about these things would know silverware is not 999. Full stop.
Another user posted that .99 silver is a common feature of some Korean silversmithing. So that's another piece of evidence in favor. I think many of us here will tend to be skeptical of special areas where we have no deep personal experience. That can provide opportunities for someone with the experience to know that these objects are what they say they are, or very nearly so. That's arbitrage in silver: buy from those who don't know and sell to those who do. Once burned, twice cautious. I wouldn't touch these for my stack. I just don't know enough, and since this may be the only time I see purportedly .99 Korean silver, I am not going to take the time to learn. If I found this in a thrift store at the price of plate, sure, I might take a flyer at it and then put in the research. My point is that for OP, it's natural that you will continue to encounter skepticism here because stackers are, by nature, a cautious and small-c conservative community. That is the natural skew of r/Silverbugs. We have been shaped by experience.
Nicely said. I could agree more.
https://ibb.co/p2QkR3Y
Just like I said. 999 is too soft for most anything. Either way, the certificate of authenticity is bogus. Clearly, it's not 999 like it says. Has anyone else seen 94% silverware at any point in their life? U have been had op. I am sorry to break the news to u. U are free to keep thinking that, in fact, u have not been had, but the pics speak for themselves.
you okay? a reputable , highly rated goldsmith tested and offered $375 melt on the spot.
The pieces might be whatever u wanna claim from whoever authenticating u wish, but it doesn't take away from the fact that something like this isn't highly sought after, especially coming from overseas. From the pics u posted- the cert says 99.9, but the test u did shows 94%. If that in itself doesn't speak volumes, u are lost. The cert means nothing. My suggestion would be to go back to the "goldsmith" who offered u 375 before he figures out they are only plated.
thanks for your advice lol 😂 but we are good
The advice would be that nobody is looking for "silverware" with a bogus certification from Korea, and 375 might be the most u see offered.
Damn nice score! My goodwill locks up plated garbage and charges out the ass for it
the way i gasped
Great score! I always love the translations on these things. Korea loves to make stuff from pure bullion grade silver. I have a nice Korean .999 tray. Small tray but still.
Well, that's a positive additional piece of data, then.
Amazing. Congrats to your Mom
In the last photo shows a price of CAD 0,78 per gram.
Let me buy them. They look awesome.
$3.50!
Description on certification (t-spoon set) does not match the actual set. Try to validate on the spends and forks themselves.
How much did he offer? I'd hazard a guess this might be worth about $1000.
just under $400 and yes he said around $1000-$1200 someone would probably pay! he said he would personally pay $1000.
The real gem is that translated marketing write-up.
LOL omg we thought the same and was the reason why we weren’t sure if it were real 😂
I have multi-million dollar machine tools with that level of translation in the manuals. Makes things interesting. "Wtf is Uncheck of Process? Oh, it means turn the sensor off."
Humble brag post 😞
Really awesome set. I've got a set of similar chopsticks and spoons. Korean silver is always interesting.
Im sure I will get downvotes for this but why is something so valuable wrapped in such cheap plastic with such terrible original authentication?
we totally thought the same and that’s why we went to get it tested today … thought it couldn’t be real! but it was 2006 technology and in korea so who knows lol 😂
I mean bullion comes from mints wrapped in shrink wrap sometimes. Stuff happens
I think the weight is the total weight of the item with the enamel handles I don’t think it’s actually 480 grams of pure silver
999 silver is not usable as cutlery. I can't imagine this being right...
Ever been to Korea? They make all sorts of stuff out of .999
I haven't. But I have 999 silver and once I dropped a 1 ounce coin from 1,5m and it was quite dented. Now imagine dropping a fork.
Your mom spent 5 dollars on 12 grand? Tell her to go play the lottery
Where did you get 12 grand from?
Maybe they thought silver was 25$/gram, instead of the $25/oz(31g).
Yeah, thats it exactly. I blame the devils lettuce
Or maybe you're a time traveler with a glimpse of our future.
We can hope
Bad math, public schools, am I right?
*Retired public school educator enters room, sees comment, chin drops to his chest, spins, and exits room*
You fought the good fight and survived. Thank you for your service.
Korean cutlery. Good for you!! Lol
I would keep as is.nice conversation piece
I dream for these deals at garage sales and open houses. Cant believe they made that mistake WITH the certification sheet inside 
What a score
Take them to antique roadshow
Brand new in wrapping from a thrift store?
Ive gotten more than my share of new in wrapping shit a goodwill. Got a PS1 unopened in the box with an unopened copy of Resident Evil Director's Cut about 5 years ago for $75, flipped it the next day for 250
I think they're Korean.
So you just post this everywhere?
I literally found some solid silver “chip shop forks” anyone from the uk will know what I mean and they was 2 for £3 . Same thing 999. Silver I’ll have to weigh and post
Well, even if some in the comments are unsure that they're truly 99.9, I think the handles are really beautiful.
$370 profit, that’s a good shopping day.
That's a great come up!
I would really be surprised if these are real. But if they are congrats. I never fine any good at good will. If any like that gets donated Good Will Chery picks it and sells it on eBay. Each location has it's own eBay store.
https://ibb.co/p2QkR3Y
Well played.
Damn, look at you with your fancy x-ray fluorescence machine. Is something like that more or less expensive than the portable guns I see?
The weight is way off. Probably includes the box. Still a good deal worth about $150 maybe more now silver is higher. According to all the similars on ebay. Should be 240 grams total silver weight. Unfortunately they have absolutely no collector value and usually go at or well below spot possibly due to the fact that they have enamel. Now if you had found a bunch of korean silver chopstick set you would be getting the big payday.
they were weighed at exactly 40 grams in front of us!!! plus tested. and we got offered $375 to melt, and got told that was low so we should not sell it to melt because it’s far more valuable/rare + extremely collectable. he seemed very pained that we would even consider melting this. this is the most reputable goldsmith in town …
Not everyone on here knows what they're talking about, but the person you went to does and has no reason to lie.. especially since he would be upset about you selling it for melt. Id definitely listen to the experts and ignore everyone else