Identifying, Researching, and Valuing Silver & Silver Plate
Identifying, Researching, and Valuing Silver & Silver Plate
Blog by Moog
Silver, one of the most iconic and important precious metals, has enjoyed an illustrious history. Naturally malleable and workable, with a lovely glossy colour and sheen, silver can be found in many forms - coins, cutlery, designer homewares, jewellery, trophies and medallions, and much more. It doesn’t matter if you’re into the ancient, the antique, or retro or modern styles, every aesthetic, period, and every century has a place for silver.
In this two part series of articles, we will be looking at one of the most common form of silver we get at the Barn, which is household silver, such as tea sets, platters, cutlery and other accessories, typically known under two types called ‘holloware’ and ‘flatware’. Not just the element of a manor house or the very rich, silver is surprisingly accessible and collectable! And ever since the invention of silver plating, silverware has become a household staple - offering a touch of glamour to the dinner or dressing table, easily found second hand. With the huge amount of silver - and silver tone pieces - on the market, how do you separate the good from the bad, or even begin to know what’s worth investing in?
For part one of this guide, we’ll be covering basic terms and concepts in silver and silver plate, as well as how to use marks to work out the material, the maker, and the value behind an object. In part two, we will discuss the care of silver and silver plate, including how to clean, use, and store your pieces so they live on for years to come.
Identifying Silver & Silver Plate
There are two main forms of silver you’ll find - solid and plated.
Solid silver is found in various degrees of purity; the most common being sterling, but also coming in pure or fine silver, continental, coin, or other finenesses. Similar to how gold is measured in carats, these grades refer to the amount of silver present in the alloy used to create an item. Below are three of most common grades of silver you may come across:
Sterling = .925 or 92.5% silver
Coin = .900 or 90% silver
Continental or German silver = .800 or 80% silver
These are by no means the only fineness standards: Britannia silver is .958, Russian silver often comes in .875 (often represented by 84 zolotniki, a Russian unit of weight), and many European countries employing the use of various grades in the .800s, such as .830 in Denmark, Sweden, Portugal and Finland. There are also multiple marks for each country depending on the various finenesses used, assay standards, makers, and the time period. Typically, pure silver is considered too soft and malleable to use for everyday items, though there are always exceptions.
So what about silver plate? How, and why, is it different to silver? The answer lies in the fact that it is not crafted from a solid piece, but made from another, less expensive alloy, which is then coated with a metal using an electrodeposition process. This gives rise to the common term ‘EPNS’, which stands for ‘electro plated nickel silver’, though you may see some variations such as EPBM (electro-plated britannia metal, not to be confused with britannia silver) or simply ‘A1’ or ‘EP’, A1 referring to the quality of the silver plate applied.
The earliest form of silver plate is ‘Sheffield Plate’, which uses a different method for a similar effect - employing sandwiched, fused layers of copper and silver which was strong, and looked similar to silver but was significantly more cost effective. Most often not marked, OSP or ‘Old Sheffield Plate’ is still considered quite collectable by those who recognise and appreciate the craftsmanship and innovation in creating these unusual pieces.
Some pieces of silver and plate may be completely unmarked. In these cases, it’s worth looking at the wear on the item, and whether there are any patches of colour from another metal coming through from underneath. If it’s a particular kind of item or has decoration, that might tell you something about its origin, who made it, and the materials they might have worked with. A magnet may also be used to help narrow down whether something is silver - as silver is only very very weakly magnetic and should not stick to standard magnets - but many non-silver metals are also non-magnetic. Ultimately, the best test is XRF - the most accurate and non invasive method of testing metal available, and used often by scrappers and jewellers. Alternatively, acid testing is easy and comparatively inexpensive, but can be inconclusive depending on the depth of plating and leaves patches that can be unsightly.
Obviously, solid silver and silver plate represent different value propositions. We’ll discuss that more later, but for now let’s move on to one of the most complex and interesting areas in identifying silver: the hallmark.
Hallmarks, Assay Marks, and Purity Marks
The most common silver marks are fairly self-explanatory - 925, ‘STG’, ‘SILVER’ and so on - and can be found internationally to represent that an item is made from silver quickly and easily. If you own any jewellery, you likely have a few examples of this mark, on the inside of the band, the clasp, or back of a pendant.
Depending on the country, items created from silver may be required to utilise a more standardised system of marks. Usually composed of a maker’s mark, an assay mark and/or a purity mark, and sometimes a date mark, these often feature a combination of symbols, numbers, and letters. Heads, buildings, animals, and other symbols like stars and shapes are often used to represent that an item is a certain purity, comes from a certain place, and has been tested. These marks are also often extremely small or deliberately placed in obscured areas as to not detract from the overall look of the piece.
Below, we’ve pictured a few variants of international silver marks you might see, including two parts of a British example with the Birmingham city anchor and the Lion Passant for .925 sterling silver, a Russian ‘Kokoshnik’ mark with an 84 zlotniki mark for .875 silver, and a German crown & crescent mark for .800 continental silver. These are by no means the only marks used and the Russian mark is no longer the standard, but give an idea of what marks tend to look like.
Electroplated pieces often carry marks that are stylistically similar. Many companies were proficient in making both silver and silver plated wares, and marks on silver plate were done in a similar style to emphasise their quality, but did not carry the same combination of marks a true silver piece would. You may see an anchor, or a crown, a lion or letter marks, but they will never be in the same combination as an English sterling mark and may have stylistic differences. The penalties for making and marking silver falsely are quite high and major forgers have been caught selling silver on ebay or locally, such as in this forgery case in 2008.
For English silver plate, keep an eye out for the phrases ‘EP’, ‘EPNS’, ‘EPBM’, and ‘A1’, as well as keeping an eye out for trade names, such as ‘Brazilian Silver’ and other variants, as all of these are indicators of silver plating. On European and international silver plate, marks get a little more complex, but deciphering what the mark depicts should point you in the right direction. Words such as ‘plaque’ and ‘Alpaca’ or ‘Alpacca’ and ‘German silver’ are common indicators of plate or alloys.
TIP: If the lettering is a bit too ornate, have a look at this gothic lettering guide if your mark is written with gothic text - as many English plate marks and silver date marks are!
There are four essentials our team can’t go without when it comes to researching hallmarks. A good bright lamp, a clean loupe, and patience, plus a library of trusty references and guides, both physical and digital, to rely on. Here's just a sample of some of the best resources the Barn itself uses:
‘International Hallmarks on Silver, collected by Tardy’ by Maurice Lengelle Tardy, 2005, 5th (English) edition
‘Marks on Australian Silver’ by Christine Erratt, 2010, published by Parker Press; Sydney, Australia
‘Jackson’s Silver and Gold Marks of England, Scotland & Ireland’, edited by Ian Pickford, 2009, 3rd Revised Edition and ‘Jackson’s Hallmarks, Pocket Edition’, 2015
‘Nineteenth Century Australian Silver’ Volumes I & II, by J. B. Hawkins, 1990, published by Antique Collector’s Club
Silver Collection, an excellent resource for international marks including plenty of images and references
925-1000, another excellent international resource with a lot of makers names, especially European
Silver Maker's Marks, A database of United Kingdom maker’s marks and date letters, in a simple and clear reference form
Defining Value
To unravel a piece of silver, you might want to start by asking yourself the following questions:
-
-
- Do you know its purpose or its history?
- Is it decorated with a certain style of imagery or motif?
- Are there any inscriptions or dates?
- Are there any assay or potential assay marks?
- Is it by an interesting maker, or an interesting period?
- What is the condition of the piece? Are there repairs?
- If multiple pieces, do they match?
-
There are a few factors that influence the value of a piece of silver and can help you determine the worth of your silver. If a solid silver product, such as a sterling or continental silver piece, the weight can be used to create a baseline value. Various silver value calculators use the purity and weight to determine scrap value based on the current silver price. For auction, we take into account this weight and value below this number, especially if the item has other parts that influence the weight (liners, finials, handles), as well as the damage and wear. On the other end of the scale, if the piece is by a quality maker or a rare type of object, particularly beautiful or historically important, these factors might improve the value of your piece. This includes inscriptions, monograms, engravings and etchings, interesting or novel shapes, a historical shape or pattern, and decoration.
For silver plate, much of the above applies. A mass produced object from the 20th century, such as a tray, basket, cruet set, candlesticks, a goblet, or a three-to-four piece tea set often have minimal value as their design and form were produced over and over and over and you’ll see the same pieces repeated over and over in bulk lots. If you search EPNS on Ebay, for example, you’ll find a lot of repetition in the kinds of objects available and the antique style they take influence from, such as art deco tea strainers, and Georgian style silver plate cruet sets with blue glass or plastic liners. While these are useful and pleasant items, the difference of quality between these and an item from a quality antique maker can make all the difference.
When it comes to cutlery sets, the value is largely dependent on the amount of pieces, whether it is complete, the attractiveness of the pattern, and whether it is silver or silver plate (with many cutlery sets, only the handles are silver, and often filled, not solid), with some makers and patterns commanding much more, such as Christofle.
Of course, wear and tear are as important for both silver and silver plate, although they show it in different ways. Silverplate with loss to the plating is brassy below, and while not desirable, is often on areas of high use and can still be very functional, and important pieces can even be replated at cost. If you’re curious on how best to take care of your silver and plate to prevent damage, we’ll be uploading part two in this article series on silver care soon!
If you’re not sure how to gather pricing information, have a look at places such as ebay solds and online auction results, making sure to look at actual sold prices - anyone can list anything for any price!
In this article, we’ve covered a few of the basics of silver buying and collecting as well as valuing.
We’ve established how to quickly establish whether something may or may not be silver, what kind of silver, or silver plate, you might find, and what determines its value, plus a few starting resources for the beginner researcher and collector. In part two of our silver series, we’ll be covering silver and silver plate care, cleaning, and polishing.
As sellers of all fine objects, the Auction Barn has handled some stunning silver pieces from all over the world, but we’re always surprised by what we find! Beautiful silver is everywhere, and remember: don’t be afraid to use it! Whether it’s a vintage silver plated tea set or a beautiful pair of antique silver candlesticks, all deserve to be enjoyed and preserved for future generations.
[Above: The lion passant mark on an antique vinaigrette, hallmarked for John Death (London), c.1803]
If you have any silver, or plate, you’d be interested in selling, we’re happy to let you know! If you’re in Canberra, our showrooms are open for spot valuations at 10 Wiluna Street, Fyshwick - or email us at [email protected] with photos of your pieces and a bit of background and we’d be happy to help! If you found this guide useful, perhaps check out our other blogs - such as this one on collecting Norman Lindsays, or this one reading British diamond registration marks - or keep an eye out for our future sales - you never know what you’ll fall in love with!