---
title: "Probate valuation of jewellery and silver: what the estate needs, and who provides it"
description: "What HMRC means by open market value, how jewellery goes on form IHT407, who carries out a probate valuation, and why a buyer's offer is not one."
canonical: "https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/probate-valuation-of-jewellery-and-silver"
published: "2026-09-26"
modified: "2026-09-26"
language: "en-GB"
publisher: "Assaypost"
---

# Probate valuation of jewellery and silver: what the estate needs, and who provides it

Written at the Assaypost bench, checked before publication. Published 26 September 2026.

**The short answer:** A probate valuation says what each piece would have sold for on the open market on the day the person died. The estate uses that figure to report its value to HMRC. When full details are needed, jewellery and silver go on form IHT407, and larger single pieces are listed one by one. The figure can be the executor's own careful estimate or a valuer's. For anything of substance, a valuer is the safer choice. A buyer's offer is not a valuation, and Assaypost does not value anything. Get the valuation first. Decide about selling afterwards.

## What a probate valuation is for

Before an executor can apply for probate, the estate's value has to be worked out. GOV.UK breaks it into three tasks: identify the assets and debts, estimate the estate's value, and report it. How it is reported depends on the estate. If Inheritance Tax is owed, the value goes to HMRC on form IHT400, within one year of the death, and GOV.UK says you cannot apply for probate until you have done it.

Most estates owe no tax, and many are 'excepted estates' that do not need full details at all. GOV.UK is careful on one point: an excepted estate that needs probate still has to report its estimated value with the application. So even a modest estate has to put a figure on the jewellery box, and the question is only how much detail goes with it.

The figure is always the same kind. Section 160 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, as HMRC's manual quotes it, asks for the price the property might reasonably be expected to fetch if sold in the [open market](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary#open-market-value) at that time, and the time is the date of death. Not what it cost, not what it would cost to replace, and not what somebody offers months later.

## How jewellery and silver go on form IHT407

When full details are needed, household and personal goods go on [form IHT407](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary#iht407), which is sent with IHT400. GOV.UK describes it as the schedule for antiques, jewellery, cars and boats as well as ordinary furniture and domestic items. It has four boxes that matter to a jewellery box. The probate words used here are also defined in the [glossary](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary).

**The parts of form IHT407 that a jewellery box and a silver cupboard touch**

| Box on IHT407 | What goes in it | What the form asks for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Jewellery | Each individual item of jewellery valued at one thousand five hundred pounds or more | A description, the open market value at the date of death, and the date of sale and gross proceeds if it has been sold. A copy of any professional valuation |
| 3. Antiques, works of art or collections | Antique silver, and collections such as coins and medals, which the form names | A description, the open market value at the date of death, and sale details if sold. A copy of any professional valuation |
| 4. Other household and personal goods | Everything else, including jewellery below the box 1 threshold | One total. The items do not need listing |
| 5. The insurance question | Whether anything in box 4 was listed individually on the household insurance | If yes, a copy of the policy and its schedule |

Box 6 adds the four together, and the total goes to box 55 of IHT400. Goods owned jointly with someone else do not go on IHT407 at all; the form sends them to IHT404. The printed form is dated 07/18, so check the current version on GOV.UK before relying on the threshold above.

Notice what box 5 means for an executor. An old insurance schedule that lists a ring is going to be seen, and its figure will be a replacement cost rather than an open market one. That is not a problem so long as the valuation explains the difference, which is one more reason to have a proper one.

## Who carries out a probate valuation

GOV.UK allows executors to estimate cheaper assets themselves, such as ordinary household goods. For jewellery its instruction is to work out how much you would have got if you had sold it, and it suggests getting a professional valuation for anything worth more than a stated figure. The routes are these.

- **An independent valuer**: A jeweller or silver specialist who values for a fee and does not buy what they value. They are the usual answer for jewellery of any substance. Ask for open market value at the date of death, in those words, and for each piece to be described individually.
- **An auction house's valuation department**: Salerooms value for probate, and their staff see what similar pieces actually make. If the estate later consigns to the same house, keep the valuation and the sale as two separate documents.
- **The solicitor acting for the estate**: Will usually arrange the valuation rather than carry it out, and is the right person to decide how much detail the estate's return needs.
- **The executor, carefully**: For modest, ordinary pieces, GOV.UK accepts a realistic estimate, for example from the sale prices of similar items. Write down how you reached each figure; GOV.UK asks executors to keep records of how the value of assets was worked out.

HMRC's manual says professional valuations prepared on the open market basis are normally acceptable, and warns that a valuation for insurance on a replacement basis may put too high a value on a piece. [Valuation, appraisal or offer](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/valuation-appraisal-or-offer) sets out how valuers charge and what to agree with one before you hand anything over. No fee is quoted on this site.

## Why a buyer's offer is not a probate valuation

> **What we do not do**
>
> Assaypost does not carry out probate valuations, insurance valuations or valuations of any other kind, and none of its documents should be described as one. What it gives is a written offer: what one buyer will pay, now, for a lot it has examined. If the estate needs a valuation, instruct a valuer.

The difference is not a technicality. A valuation looks back to the date of death and asks what the open market would have paid. An offer looks at today and says what one buyer will pay. A valuer is independent of the outcome; a buyer is not, however fair the offer. A valuation describes every piece whether or not it will be sold; an offer covers only what was sent.

An offer still has a place in the paperwork. In HMRC's manual, an auction or other sale after the death is the strongest evidence there is of what a piece was worth on the day it sold. IHT407 asks for the date and gross proceeds of anything sold, and HMRC's guidance on the form asks for open market value at the date of death even where an item sold for less. So a sale does not replace the valuation. It sits beside it, as evidence the estate may need to explain.

## Using a valuation and an offer together

1. **List what there is**: One row per piece, with where it was found and its marks. The [printable estate inventory](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/estate-jewellery-and-silver-inventory) is laid out for this, and a valuer will work faster from it.
2. **Get the valuation, as at the date of death**: From a valuer, or as the executor's careful estimate for ordinary pieces. This is the figure that goes on the estate's return.
3. **Wait for the grant before selling**: Selling is a separate decision. [Selling jewellery before probate is granted](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/selling-jewellery-before-probate-is-granted) explains why it usually waits.
4. **Get offers, and compare them with the valuation**: An offer well below the valuation is a reason to ask why, or to try another route such as auction. An offer close to it is some reassurance for the beneficiaries.
5. **Record any sale beside the valuation**: Date, buyer, gross proceeds and the itemised list. If the estate reports on IHT407, the sale details go in the box for that item. Later tax questions depend on the value at the date of death; [the tax guide for inherited gold and coins](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/tax-when-you-sell-inherited-gold-and-coins) explains when.

GOV.UK says HMRC can ask to see an estate's records up to 20 years after Inheritance Tax is paid. Keep the valuation, the inventory, any offers and any sale records together, and send the beneficiaries copies of the final accounts, as GOV.UK advises.

## Risks in valuing an estate's jewellery

- Using the insurance schedule as the figure. It is a replacement cost, often well above open market value, and HMRC's manual says so.
- Using a buyer's offer as the figure. It is dated after the death, it comes from someone with an interest in the price, and it covers only what was sent.
- Valuing the box as one lump. IHT407 asks for larger pieces of jewellery one by one, and a beneficiary will ask about them one by one too.
- Guessing low to keep things simple. The estate's figures are the executor's responsibility, and a sale soon afterwards at a much higher price is the sort of thing that invites a question.
- Selling before the valuation is done. Once a piece has gone, nobody can look at it again, and the valuation has to rely on the description.
- Forgetting the coins and medals. The form names them under collections, and they are the pieces most often worth more than they look.

## When not to use this route

This page explains the process; it is not advice on a particular estate. Speak to the solicitor or probate practitioner acting for the estate if Inheritance Tax may be due, if the estate must report in full, if beneficiaries disagree about values, or if you are unsure which form applies. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in places.

Once the valuation is done and the grant is in hand, [probate and estate jewellery](https://assaypost.co.uk/probate-and-estate-jewellery) explains how Assaypost examines an estate's lot and makes its offer, with every piece listed and nothing sold until the executor accepts.

## Questions sellers ask

### Does Assaypost do probate valuations?

No. It does not carry out valuations of any kind. It makes written offers to buy. If an estate needs a probate valuation, instruct an independent valuer or an auction house's valuation department, or ask the solicitor acting for the estate to arrange one.

### Do I need a professional valuation for Mum's jewellery?

Not always. GOV.UK lets executors estimate ordinary items, and for jewellery asks you to work out what it would have sold for. For anything of substance, or where tax may be due, a professional valuation is the safer course, and form IHT407 asks for a copy of any you have.

### What value goes on the form: what it cost, what it is insured for, or what it would sell for?

What it would have sold for on the open market at the date of death. Not the purchase price, and not the insurance figure, which is a replacement cost and usually higher.

### We sold some pieces after the death. Which figure do we use?

The form still asks for open market value at the date of death, and also for the date of sale and the gross proceeds. HMRC treats a sale after the death as good evidence of value at the date of sale. If the two differ, the solicitor or valuer can explain how the estate should present them.

### Where do coins and medals go?

Collections, including coins and medals, have their own box on IHT407, alongside antiques and works of art. A single gold coin kept in a drawer is still worth listing, because coins are often worth more than their metal.

### How long should the valuation be kept?

With the estate's records, for a long time. GOV.UK says HMRC can ask to see them up to 20 years after Inheritance Tax is paid, and the value at the date of death also matters if a beneficiary sells a piece later.

## Sources

1. [GOV.UK — How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died) (accessed 26 September 2026)
2. [GOV.UK — How to value an estate: estimate the estate's value](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/estimate-estate-value) (accessed 26 September 2026)
3. [GOV.UK — How to value an estate: check if you need to send full details](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/check-type-of-estate) (accessed 26 September 2026)
4. [GOV.UK — How to value an estate: if Inheritance Tax is due or full details are needed](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/inheritance-tax-to-pay) (accessed 26 September 2026)
5. [GOV.UK — How to value an estate: records](https://www.gov.uk/valuing-estate-of-someone-who-died/records) (accessed 26 September 2026)
6. [GOV.UK — Inheritance Tax: household and personal goods (IHT407), and form IHT407 (HMRC 07/18)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inheritance-tax-household-and-personal-goods-iht407) (accessed 26 September 2026)
7. [HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM21011 — introduction to form IHT407](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm21011) (accessed 26 September 2026)
8. [HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM21041 — how we value household goods](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/inheritance-tax-manual/ihtm21041) (accessed 26 September 2026)

## Related

- [Probate and estates](https://assaypost.co.uk/probate-and-estate-jewellery)
- [Valuation, appraisal or offer: which one you actually need](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/valuation-appraisal-or-offer)
- [Selling jewellery as an executor: what to do before probate is granted](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/selling-jewellery-before-probate-is-granted)
- [Estate inventory sheet for jewellery, silver, watches and coins](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/estate-jewellery-and-silver-inventory)
- [Selling inherited gold, silver and coins: the tax position in plain terms](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/tax-when-you-sell-inherited-gold-and-coins)
- [Inherited jewellery](https://assaypost.co.uk/inherited-jewellery)

## Start with photographs

- [Send a photo on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/447369296063?text=Hello.%20I've%20been%20reading%20your%20guides%20and%20I've%20got%20some%20pieces%20I%20can't%20identify.%20Sending%20photos%20now.)
- [Request a prepaid label](https://assaypost.co.uk/postal-pack)
- Telephone [07369 296063](tel:+447369296063), 6am to 10pm, seven days a week