The Antiques Trade Gazette just ran a story on the large amount of silver being scrapped. Silver bullion is now at a near 30 year high in the high $40s per ounce (for those old enough to remember, I guess that is back when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market, which peaked at around $54 an ounce in 1980.
Unfortunately, many great pieces of antique silver is being lost to smelting and the scrap process. I am guilty of recommending this process to clients as well, but I try to keep the better quality, and allow what I call the wedding silver to be scrapped.
The ATG reports some great George II and Tiffany pieces were being destroyed. Perhaps even great pieces with strong collector value can not keep pace with the price of the raw commodity. Perhaps another bubble?
The ATG reports
To read the full ATG article, click HERE.With their value as a raw material far outstripping their value as antiques, proprietor Steve Conway saw some "stunning" objects emerging from the dealing community to be scrapped.
Good quality Victorian tea sets, Georgian salvers, trophies, cruet sets and flatware were melted onsite as more than £1.5m changed hands.
When ATG visited the following day (when the price was just over £23 an ounce), the plastic dustbins filling with silver included items of the calibre of a large George II armorial-engraved salver weighing 70oz (scrap value £1610) and a late 19th century Tiffany engraved tea and coffee service weighing in at 260oz (£5980) with its ornate tea kettle and stand. If they had not been 'saved' by a buyer wishing to own them as functional works of art by the close of trading, they were heading to the crucible.
Why have prices spiked? Silver is a key metal in the production of electrical components, but more generally investors are buying precious metals as a haven against a host of financial uncertainties (particularly inflation and a weak dollar) and the recent geopolitical turmoil.
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