MICROSCRAPPINGE-waste field guide
Connectors & pins · Tier B

Silver-Plated Copper Wire & Coax

Cut a fresh end and leave the offcut on the bench a month — silver plating blooms brown-black on the strand tips while nickel stays dull grey forever; for an instant answer one drop of dilute nitric plus a pinch of salt gives a milky AgCl cloud on silver.

Ag 2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductorCu ~230 g/lbBase 40–55% PTFE/FEP
eBay typical$8–25per lb
Refiner pays$12per lb
Metal in it$11.0per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot
Confidencehighof the yield figures

How to spot it

Bright, slightly warm-white strands versus the cold blue-grey of nickel and dull grey of tin, under thin hard slippery white or translucent PTFE rather than soft PVC. Printed legends include M16878/4, M16878/5, M22759/11, M17/60-RG142, M17/127-RG393 and SPC. Found on RF/microwave assemblies, avionics, radar, satcom, high-temp industrial and vintage valve hi-fi.

Metal content

MetalQuantityNotes
Silver2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductorASTM B298 fixes silver as a weight percent: Class A ≥1.25%, B ≥2.50%, C ≥4.00%, D ≥6.10%, E ≥10.00%
Copper~230 g/lbConductor is 40–60% of cable mass
Base metal40–55% PTFE/FEPZero value — never burn

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $11.0 per pound of contained metal — Silver 4.5 g = $8.55, Copper 230 g = $2.46. A refiner paying $12 returns about 109% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: Never above 250 °C; mechanical stripping preferred

Strip mechanically only — wire stripper or rotary cable stripper; for volume a granulator plus air table separates PTFE (ρ 2.2) from Cu (ρ 8.9) cleanly. Never burn PTFE, and stay below 250 °C if softening jackets. Unbraid or shear braid and separate by density.

Hazards

☠ Hydrogen fluoride from fluoropolymers & lithium

NEVER torch, incinerate or overheat PTFE insulation, and never smoke around PTFE dust — it converts on the cigarette.

💨 Fumes, ventilation and open flame

NEVER burn boards, wire insulation or plastic. Ever.

🪚 Fibreglass and board dust

NEVER dry-cut boards indoors without extraction.

Before you scrap it

Yes, substantially — 8–20×. New/NOS silver-plated PTFE hookup wire sells $2–8/ft to audio, restoration and aerospace repair; a 100 ft spool of 20 AWG M16878 fetches $60–150 against ~$8 of metal. Only strip cable that is short, kinked or unmarked.

The common trap

Scrapyards buy silver-plated copper as #1 or #2 copper and you donate 100% of the silver — at Class B that is giving away $21/lb. The overestimation trap runs the other way: a very large fraction of mil-spec high-temp wire is nickel-plated (M22759/32, M27500 N-suffix) for 260 °C service, and nickel is worth nothing. Run the tarnish or nitric test first.

Questions

How much gold is in silver-plated copper wire & coax?

Silver: 2.8–6.8 g/lb as-received; 5.7–11.3 g/lb stripped conductor. Copper: ~230 g/lb. At current spot that is about $11.0 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify silver-plated copper wire & coax?

Cut a fresh end and leave the offcut on the bench a month — silver plating blooms brown-black on the strand tips while nickel stays dull grey forever ; for an instant answer one drop of dilute nitric plus a pinch of salt gives a milky AgCl cloud on silver.

How do you remove silver-plated copper wire & coax safely?

Strip mechanically only — wire stripper or rotary cable stripper; for volume a granulator plus air table separates PTFE (ρ 2.2) from Cu (ρ 8.9) cleanly. Never burn PTFE, and stay below 250 °C if softening jackets. Unbraid or shear braid and separate by density.

Is silver-plated copper wire & coax worth more working than as scrap?

Yes, substantially — 8–20×. New/NOS silver-plated PTFE hookup wire sells $2–8/ft to audio, restoration and aerospace repair; a 100 ft spool of 20 AWG M16878 fetches $60–150 against ~$8 of metal. Only strip cable that is short, kinked or unmarked.

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