Category Archives: Antique Collection

antique-silver-tea-set

Uncovering the Real Value of Your Parents’ Antique Kitchenware

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Hold up just a second before you go ditching that antique silver spoon collection your Mom handed down to you, or scrapping the antique kitchenware, you might want to do a quick search for “silver buyers near me”.

There’s a world of difference between silver buyers of antique silver and scrapping, pawning, or selling silver in a yard sale. Doing some research on the subject of Antique Silverware Buying & Appraisal is worth its weight in gold.

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Antique Silver and Silver Tea Set Buyers

A fortune could be hidden in your parent’s (and even grandparent’s) kitchenware. Antique silver potentially has much more value than if you sell it by weight alone. Antique silverware buying and selling is big bucks when there’s a history behind the piece or pieces. Even the decorative artwork on your antique silver can boost the value. It’s best to consult a silver tea set buyer or antique silver buyer when you are in the market to sell.

Finding a Trustworthy Buyer of Antique Silver

Unfortunately, especially with the boom of online silver tea set buyers and antique silver buyers cannot all be trusted. Even selling to a local buyer can be risky. You’ll want to check out any potential buyer you plan to do business with.

Find out if the business is local, or if it’s online, be sure there’s a longstanding internet presence that’s not flighty. Look for verifiable references that aren’t just on the company’s own website or social site. Check for credentials and length of time in business too.

Why Trust Antique Silver Buyers?

Antique Silver Buyers is a name you can trust as a silver tea set buyer, antique silverware buyer, and buyer and appraiser of antique silver of most any kind. We’ve been in business for 25 years and have a myriad of happy customers that sing our praises. Many are repeat customers we’ve had for years.

Based in Florida, Antique Silver Buyers is dedicated to doing business face to face. We believe that the appraisal, selling, and buying of antique silver should be a personal encounter that can only be conducted properly when it’s done eye to eye. We want to meet you and make your experience an ultimate one.

When it comes to selling your antique silver, turn to a trusted buyer you can trust. Turn to Antique Silver Buyers.

925 sterling denmark 192

Silver Markings : Demystifying the Hallmarks

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Your silver is worth money. But there’s so much more to it than that. Over the nearly 30 years that I’ve spent discovering fascinating new pieces, I’ve taken it upon myself to try and share this deep appreciation of not only the value of some items but the rarity, craftsmanship, history, and stunningly brilliant beauty of the collections people bring to me.

And if that isn’t of interest to you, you’ll be interested in knowing that by being able to identify these traits can help assure you that you get exactly what your silver is worth.

Today we’re going to talk about Silver Hallmarks. Just a drop in the bucket, since this is an entire specialty of knowledge, but an excellent foundation.

Related Blog – Selling Gold and Silver: 4 Rules for Dealing with Antique Buyers

Silver Hallmarks, Silver Markings:

Sterling Silver

Essentially every new silverware set, tea set, etc. you will come across is marked with a stamp called a silver hallmark. The purpose of a silver mark is to tell the buyer (or in this case, you) what the purity of the silver is. The most common markings for sterling silver are fairly easy to decipher:

– Sterling

– 925 or .925

Sterling Silver

This indicates a 92.5% silver purity. Silver is often blended with other metals for increased strength. You may also see lower percentages of silver, such as 900 or 800. This indicates a lower percentage of silver and is no longer considered ‘Sterling’.

Fine Silver and Silver Plate

Fine Silver, quite simply, is composed of 100% pure silver. Pound for pound this is the most valuable silver you can find. We’ll learn next time what can give ‘pound for pound’ a run for its money. However, for today we’ll keep things simple. Fine Silver can just as easily be identified with the markings such as Fine Silver or Pure Silver. Rogers sterling (often marked Wm Rogers – and also indicated ‘Sterling’) is actually pure silver. Whereas Rogers plated silver is not.

Fine Silver or Pure Silver

Be wary of items marked as Stainless, Triple Plate, IS, Silver, EPNS, and the like. These indicate that your items are made from stainless steel, electroplated, or are simply silver plated. While these may be beautiful items they are not all that valuable. You may simply want to keep them in your home for your own enjoyment.

Unique Markings

Here’s where things get interesting. Remember what I said in the beginning? There is so much more to Silver than it’s weight in… silver. You will not always come across a marking that is as simple to read as what I’ve outlined above. Markings from around the world vary in more ways than just the country it comes from.

There are literally thousands of these unique markings offering insight into:

–  The age of a particular item
–  Place of origin
–  Rarity
–  Manufacturer
–  Significance

And so much more.

For a quick example, the image below is a silver marking from the Kirk firm, founded in America in 1815. Samuel Kirk introduced a unique type of repousse decoration that has become known as the Baltimore Style and as since become highly imitated. This marking indicates both the year, location, manufacturer, and historical significance of the piece.

Kirk silver marking

I hope you found this all very informative and exciting! I look forward to sharing more of my appreciation and knowledge about the wonderful works of silver soon. We’ll discuss markings from all over the world and the difference in significance between them.

If you’re eager to discover the true value of your silver right away, I always encourage people to consult a respected expert or two. You can also contact me directly and I’d be happy to answer any of your questions.