I don't think silver plated items would be able to be used to turn into cash, usually real siver items are halmarked and have 925 on them to prove they are sterling silver, however anyone can stamp 925 on a piece of metal jewellery, halmarks usually have an image representing where they where hallmarked, for instance silver hallmarked in Scotland will have a little castle to represent Edinburgh. If you have an idea where the silver is from, try searching for hallmarking sites online where you will find the image they use when hallmarking.
