# Silver Overlay question



## Anonymous (Mar 15, 2008)

Ok I understand what Sterling silver is and I get what plated silver is but I saw some spoons,forks, knives about 100 of them stamped (silver overlay) on them. Now I've tried to understand what this is and apparently its a "thick" coating of sterling on a copper core that can be etched and your still in the overlay Ummm layer. But really how thick is that? ACK! So anyway is this stuff worth acquiring? I can get it for about nothing. But don't know if its really worth while.

Thanks for your help.


----------



## Harold_V (Mar 16, 2008)

I may be wrong, but overlay is just another way of saying "silver plate".

Be caustios about what you think is thick silver. It's not an accident that the base metal resembles silver. It is also likely to be pure silver, not sterling. 

The base metal is white for a purpose. When the silver starts wearing off, the utensils don't readily show the color change. It's usually noticable by eye if you look closely, and readily confirmed by a test with either nitric acid or Schwerters solution. 

Only if you think you can strip the silver economically would it be a good idea to buy the stuff. The base metal has value, so I wouldn't pay any more than I could recover by selling the spoons, and forks. Knives may not have a market value because of the blade, and they're hard to break up because the handle is often filled with a cement type product. Not worth the effort unless your time is valueless. 

Harold


----------



## henos (Mar 16, 2008)

He marks sign 100, that 24 art ( 2 dozens) 100 g of silver contain.
I read this in certain old book.


----------



## Anonymous (Mar 16, 2008)

I dunno how accurate this site is but it claims overlay is.
http://www.mecates.com/silver_faqs.htm#what is overlay

What is sterling silver overlay?
It is a thick layer of sterling silver laid on top of a firmer metal during the manufacturing process. This makes the finished piece firmer and less prone to bending. The silver layer is thick enough that it is engraved just like solid sterling and will also tarnish with exposure to air.

What is silver plate?
Plate is a very thin layer of silver electroplated on to a thick piece of base metal. It cannot be engraved. The engraving you see on silver plate trim is actually done on the metal underneath. The plate is so thin that you can still see the engraving. 

But I dunno HA!


----------



## Harold_V (Mar 16, 2008)

Ritual said:


> What is sterling silver overlay?
> It is a thick layer of sterling silver laid on top of a firmer metal during the manufacturing process. This makes the finished piece firmer and less prone to bending. The silver layer is thick enough that it is engraved just like solid sterling and will also tarnish with exposure to air.



Likely true. I never encountered any in all my refining years, but silver, to me, was a tool that I used in refining gold----so I'm not surprised that I was never exposed to overlay. I never pursued silver, and processed only what came in from customers. 

Judging from the description, silver overlay is akin to gold filled---an alloy of silver that is soldered, or otherwise affixed, to base metals. Slightly more silver content than plating, perhaps. I'd still be cautios about getting too deeply involved if your game is reclaiming silver. It won't yield a great amount per item. 

Harold


----------

