Midwest Refineries – Precious Metal Refiners & Gold Buyers
Silver Buyers, Smelters, Refiners, Assayers and Brokers of all Silver Metal
You have silver — flatware passed down through the family, a jeweler’s bench full of scrap, dental miscasts, photographic flake from a lab, or coins your father saved for decades. Whatever the source, you deserve to get its full value without confusing fees quietly cutting your payout.
Midwest Refineries has been buying and refining silver for over 85 years. We’re a family-owned refinery now based in Lakeland, Florida, serving customers across all 50 states. Our process is simple, our pricing is transparent, and we charge zero fees — ever.
Turn Your Silver Into Cash — Fast, Fair, and Fee-Free
Why Silver Sellers Across America Trust Midwest Refineries
The silver buying industry has the same problem as gold: competitors advertise sky-high payout percentages, then recover their margins through a long list of fees you don’t discover until settlement. We built our reputation by doing the opposite.
85+ Years of Family-Owned Integrity
Founded in 1939, Midwest Refineries is now led by Joanna and Raul Acosta, who together bring more than 40 years of daily operations experience. The commitment to honesty and fair dealing that built this business is the same one that runs it today.
Refiners who claim to pay 98–99% also charge refining fees, assay fees, treatment charges, handling fees, and inbound weight fees. No one runs a business on 1–2%. At Midwest Refineries, we charge nothing. Our payout rates are the whole story.
We pay different rates based on silver type and purity — and we’re upfront about every one of them. For orders of 10 troy ounces or more, we melt and assay your material to determine exact silver content, then you receive 100% of the spot price on the day your order settles.
One bracelet or a full estate’s worth of flatware — we buy it all. There is no order too small or too large.
Customers consistently tell us how surprised they are by how quickly they receive their check. We process shipments efficiently and settle promptly. One customer sent silver from Alaska and had her check in hand one week later.
Ready to Get Paid for Your Silver?
Exactly What You’ll Receive for Your Silver — No Surprises.
Sterling silver (.925) — jewelry, flatware, photographic & coin silver
90% of pure silver content
Pure silver (.999) — bars & coins
92% of pure silver content
800 silver
80% of pure silver content
Spot price applied
100% of market price on settlement day
Refining / assay / handling fees
None — zero fees ever
Minimum order required
None — all amounts welcome
Orders under 10 troy ounces are purchased outright based on average melt weight loss and purity. Orders of 10 troy ounces or more are melted and assayed for exact content. Settlement options: Check | Bank Wire ($35 domestic / $60 international) | Exchange for precious metal coins, bars, or rounds (call for availability).
Not Sure What Your Silver Is Worth?
Call us — we’ll walk you through it with no pressure and no obligation.
Silver We Buy — A Wide Range of Forms and Sources
We accept silver from individuals, jewelers, silversmiths, dental labs, photographers, manufacturers, and estates across the USA. If it’s real silver at 80% purity or above, we want it.
We Do Not Accept
- Silver-plated material (any base)
- Foreign coinage of any kind
- Silver below 80% purity
- U.S. clad coinage (1965 to present)
- Nickels, Nickel silver (nickel and zinc alloy)
- Silver electrical contacts
- Any magnetic silver materials
- Silver brazing wire
- Weighted sterling silver: (candlesticks, pedestals, knife handles with steel rods/fillers)
- Sterling silver jewelry (rings, chains, bracelets, earrings, necklaces)
- Silver inlays and caps
- Sterling silver flatware and hollowware
- Silver wire and sheet
- Silver coins and bullion bars
- Silver mesh and tubing
- Coin silver (pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver)
- 90% U.S. Silver coins
- Mirror silver powders
- Silver flake from photographic film recovery
- Antique silver items
- Electrolytic recovered silver
- Silversmith bench scrap and findings
- Dental lab scraps, miscasts & crowns
- Excess sterling silver inventory
A Note on Weighted Sterling Silver
Some sterling items — candlesticks, pedestal bowls, dinner knife handles — are manufactured with wax, plaster, cement, or steel support rods inside the silver casing. Because separating the silver from these fillers accurately is not feasible, we no longer accept weighted sterling silver in any form.
If you’re unsure whether your items are weighted, call us before shipping. We’re happy to help you identify what you have.
How to Ship Your Silver to Us
Getting paid for your gold is straightforward. Here’s the process from start to payment:
- Call or email us to discuss your materials and get any questions answered before you ship.
- Pack and ship your gold to our secure Lakeland, Florida facility. Visit our Shipping Instructions page for guidance. We are not open for walk-in traffic for security reasons.
- We receive your shipment, weigh it, and — for orders of 3+ troy ounces — melt and assay to determine exact gold content.
- You receive your settlement at 95% of the pure gold value at 100% of spot price PER POUND on the settlement day.
- Choose your payout: Check, Bank wire ($35 domestic fee, $60 international fee), Gold, silver and platinum bars, coins and rounds. Call for availability and pricing, or a combination.
A Note on Preparation
No need to remove enamel or cement from dental gold — it’s dangerous to attempt and unnecessary. Our equipment handles it during melting. Also, do not remove stones from karat jewelry scrap; they are eliminated in the melting process. If any stones hold personal or resale value to you, remove them before shipping.
America's Trusted Silver Buyer
READY TO GET STARTED?
Ship Nationwide — Ship to Us from Anywhere in the USA
4418 Florida National Dr., Lakeland, FL 33813 | 863-390-0414
Your Trusted Silver & Metals Buyer in the USA
What Our Silver Customers Say
“Before we knew it, a check had arrived in the mail. We had a great experience all the way around, from our first viewing of the website, to the clear shipping instructions, to rapid payment. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
Contact Midwest Refineries Today
Don’t let your silver sit idle or settle for a fraction of its value at a local buyer. Get a fair, transparent, fee-free settlement from a family-owned refinery with over 85 years of trust behind every transaction.
We are America’s Trusted Silver Buyers. We Buy Scrap Gold!
ATOMIC NUMBER - 79 - ELEMENT SYMBOL - Au
ATOMIC WEIGHT – 196.96655 – MELTING POINT – 1064.18 DEGREES C. / 1947.52 DEGREES F.
We Serve Silver Sellers Nationwide
in all 50 states. Whether you’re a silversmith in Tennessee, a dental lab in Texas, a photographer in Nevada with accumulated flake, or a family in New Mexico with inherited coin silver — we are ready to serve you at any volume.
Call or Email to Get Started — It's Easy
No minimums. No fees. No guesswork. Just honest payouts from real refiners. Call Today!