I need help to save this set from melting… I think its reed & barton but I cant track down the pattern even with google lens. Can somebody help me figure out what I might have and if its worth not just selling for melt.
Thanks
I want to say I have 84 matched pieces = 12 sets idk.
https://www.925-1000.com/ax_wallace.html
Violet pattern.
And a quick perusal of eBay “sold” items tells us that Wallace silver in that pattern commands some very respectable prices! Certainly waaaaay north of melt value.
Awesome thanks!!! In your humble opinion is it actually worth trying to get value out of beyond what I can get at coin shops. Its overwhelming for me to be honest.
Thank you Jeff!!! I did not see what you had posted until I had responded already to the first post.
Yes, there’s a lot of money sitting there. I believe the technical term for it is “a boatload.” 
I’ve done a bit more digging. I always forget just how weighty flatware usually is. Looking at actual auction results on LiveAuctioneers, sets like this really have been selling at roughly their melt value. But there are a lot of troy ounces sitting there, so it adds up to quite chunk of change. There’s some “collector” interest in them, but not a lot.
Get a little silver scale and weigh everything - grab one set, weigh it, then multiply. The knives may have stainless steel blades, but you’ll still get fairly close to the total weight. The current spot price of silver is about $32 per troy ounce. See what it comes to.
It might turn out that the smart move is to sell the entire shebang to your local friendly precious metals dealer, pocket the money, and go away happy. Selling things like this takes a lot of effort, and you might decide that it’s not worth it.
All this is true, however, sterling of course is only 92.5% pure silver and there is a fairly steep discount when you sell flatware for melt. As of this moment, pure silver ie 99.99 purity is priced at 1.45 Canadian dollars per gram, however a reputable silver dealer I know is only paying 1.06 per gram of sterling flatware. You only really get the full price of silver if you sell well known government issue bullion like Canadian maples, US eagles, chinese Pandas etc. It is the most convenient way to liquidate it if you don’t want it but you receive a discounted price, just fyi
On the other hand, I’ve sold quite a few things on eBay, and at the end of the day, I always find myself wondering whether it was worth the tsuris. It usually takes something just this side of forever, the fees keep climbing, you always worry about running into the buyer who makes your life miserable, etc., etc. And selling through an auction house, you end up getting even less.
So yes, you can do better than “selling for melt,” but only if you can connect with the right buyer. And that’s the tricky part.
Worth reading just for the word tsuris!
I grew up in the NYC 'burbs, and yes, Yiddish gave us a lot of useful words. My home town also had a large Italian population, so one learned the equivalent word: agita.
Haha, yes there is a great deal of tsuris and agita disposing of flatwear. My feeling is if the poster wants or needs the money take it to your local coin store and take the 25 to 30 percent hit on the asw and be content. However if it’s family stuff there is other less fungible value. But twelve is a lot. Maybe save service for 6 or 8 and melt the rest. I have two canteens of flatware and enjoy my meals so much more eating with elegance.
Well said!!! 
I joined this discussion late. Thank heavens you didn’t melt this!!! I collect and sell sterling. This is a gorgeous pattern and your boatload is amazing. If you need the money sell. I would try Ruby Lane also to sell. There are sellers on Ruby Lane that might buy it from you. On eBay or Ruby Lane it wont be a fast sell at this time of year especially. My heart breaks to melt these, alas I am in my 70’s and selling my stuff or would grab this to use every day. To join the word play meshuganah IMHO to melt
