It’s easy to test. There’s a machine called a Sigma Pro that can test the purity of silver. It costs around a thousand dollars and every pawnbroker and coin dealer has one. If it isn’t pure, they’ll get busted immediately.
You can determine density using a scale, string, and some water, but this wouldn’t be reliable enough to determine silver purity beyond 1-1½ significant figures. 950‰-970‰ pure silver would probably be within the margin of error you’d expect for 999‰ pure silver. That silver is basically “contaminated” from a dealer’s perspective because it’s unsellable due to being a strange purity and would have to be refined into 999 silver at a significant cost.
Dealers don’t do this. A Sigma Pro machine is easier, more reliable, and faster.
For that reason, if you only had 1 ozt of it (or even 10 ozt), a dealer would maybe generously offer you half or two-thirds of melt value.
It’s easy to test. There’s a machine called a Sigma Pro that can test the purity of silver. It costs around a thousand dollars and every pawnbroker and coin dealer has one. If it isn’t pure, they’ll get busted immediately.
Lol Sigma Pro
Lmao appraised’em’
Can you not use Archimedes’ principle to determine silver purity? A decent kitchen scale and something to measure volume?
You can determine density using a scale, string, and some water, but this wouldn’t be reliable enough to determine silver purity beyond 1-1½ significant figures. 950‰-970‰ pure silver would probably be within the margin of error you’d expect for 999‰ pure silver. That silver is basically “contaminated” from a dealer’s perspective because it’s unsellable due to being a strange purity and would have to be refined into 999 silver at a significant cost.
Dealers don’t do this. A Sigma Pro machine is easier, more reliable, and faster.
For that reason, if you only had 1 ozt of it (or even 10 ozt), a dealer would maybe generously offer you half or two-thirds of melt value.