Question 1

How many troy ounces are in a pound of silver?

Accepted Answer

An avoirdupois pound (453.592 g) contains 14.5833 troy ounces. So at $34 spot, a pound of pure silver is worth about $495.83. A troy pound, rarely used, would be 12 troy ounces — do not confuse them.

Question 2

Why do US scrap dealers use pounds?

Accepted Answer

American scales and commerce run on avoirdupois pounds, and scrap lots — flatware, industrial scrap, mixed lots — are weighed in bulk. Dealers convert to troy ounces internally, but they quote customers in pounds.

Question 3

How do I calculate scrap value per pound?

Accepted Answer

Multiply the per-pound fine price above by the item's purity, then by the dealer's payout percentage. Example: 5 lbs of sterling flatware at $495/lb fine = 5 x 495 x 0.925 x 0.80 payout = about $1,831.

Question 4

Troy pound vs regular pound — what's the difference?

Accepted Answer

A troy pound is 12 troy ounces (373.24 g); an avoirdupois (regular) pound is 14.5833 troy ounces (453.59 g). Scrap and commerce always mean avoirdupois. If a quote seems 20% off, someone mixed up the two.

Question 5

Is per-pound pricing used outside the US?

Accepted Answer

Rarely. Most of the world prices silver per gram, kilo or tola. Per-pound quotes are an American scrap-market convention — international dealers will convert to troy ounces or kilos.

Troy ounce (31.10 g)	$53.91
Gram	$1.73
Kilogram	$1,733.37
Tola (11.66 g)	$20.22
Pound (453.6 g)	$786.24

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