Polish it with silver polish....NOT baking soda or clorox or anyother soaking/dipping thing...polish it with Wrights Silver Polish, ot International silver polish or Twinkle Silver polish....then wash it with a dish detergent like Dawn or Palmolive, Ivory etc.
The smell you detect is from the baking soda and whatever else you have soaked it in....sort of a sulfur smell?
And put it into a new plastic tray and cover it with a piece of Pacific Cloth.
And....are you sure it's sterling and not silver plate?

Linda C

Sigh. Thank you for your note. Actually I have already done all of the above. The efforts noted in my posting were to get rid of an existing odor. So, thank you anyway...

Don't you think that the smell/odor is coming from that old musty silverware box? You should chunk it and buy a new box...surely the silver won't stink after it's been polished.

Does the silver smell if you leave it out on the table all night? Suppose you wrap it in a clean dish towel and leave it out of the box for 5 or 6 days....then does it stink?
If it does, it's the silver itself and either base metal, as I said are you sure it's sterling? If the smell goes away when you do thsoe things it's the box that smells.
You ask has anyone ever heard of this problem...
Yes, but never with sterling. Plated ware can smell when it begins to get worn to base metal in some spots.
Linda C

Have you tried warm water with mild phosphate free detergents. It might help (^_^)

Here is a link that might be useful: sterling silver flatware

I use my old sterling everyday and either wash by hand or put in dishwasher. I have one spoon that has a metallic when using. None of the others have this problem.

I have vintage, never used sterling flatware. I finally took all the pieces out of their original plastic sleeves, from the box they have lived in for 80 years. I washed everything, as directly by googling, in a few drops of dawn. I had not polished anything. It all tasted disgusting, and my husband refuses to use it now. My sister and a dear friend both use their silver daily, place it in the dishwasher, and may only polish 1x a year. Maybe I should just wash it a few times in FOOD, dishwasher, FOOD. To remove the gross taste a little quicker. If I only just wait it out, it will never get used. HELP.

I had the same problem with silverware that someone gave me. It was VERY old and had that terrible smell also. The only thing that worked for me was scrubbing them with brillo pads. Now no smell at all!