Finding Actual Sales on eBay

We receive comments such as this frequently, "My sterling flatware set must be worth $XYZ.00 because I've seen it listed on eBay for this amount." Listing on eBay and actually selling are two different things.

To develop a true picture of what's selling on eBay, you should examine actual completed sales. Here's how to do this (you may have to sign in to eBay):

• On many eBay screens, you will see a link to "Advanced Search". Click on this.
• Enter your search keywords.
• Check the box that says, "Completed listings".
• Check the box that says, "Include Store inventory".
• Click the "Search" button.

You will see a list of completed listings in the past two weeks that met your keyword criteria. The listings you will want to examine are those that have a little box with the word "Sold" beside them. Review these specific listings to see what was being sold and compare them with what you are considering selling. Examine the selling price.

This will help you determine the true value of your set, at least on eBay.

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Identification Help - Steel Flatware

We received a question regarding the pieces you see in the picture. They appear to be made of steel and have enameled handles. The phrase, "JR&Co." is on each handle.

Can anyone out there help identify what these might be? Send an email or post a comment.


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Questions About Rogers Silver Flatware?

We receive so many questions about Rogers flatware that we wrote an article about the subject for Examiner.com. If you have questions on this topic, we suggest reading the article first.

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Hints on Multi-Purpose Serving Pieces

We ran across an old brochure from Ross-Simons the other day that had some handy tips regarding using certain serving pieces for multiple purposes. We thought the information was worth posting here, especially with Thanksgiving just around the corner. The text is copied directly from their brochure. We added the pictures. Thanks, Ross-Simons!

Sugar Spoon... ideal for jellies, jams, condiments and sauces - as well as sugar.



Butter Spreader... serves as a perfect preserve spreader, cheese spreader or fruit knife, too.


Pierced Tablespoon... use alone to serve vegetables in their own juice - or combine with a cold meat fork for a handsome salad serving set.

Cold Meat Fork... for cold meats, cheese slices, chops, waffles, sliced tomatoes, spaghetti - and to match up with the pierced tablespoon for a salad serving set.

Tablespoon... perfect for serving vegetables, fruits, desserts, casseroles and stuffing.

Gravy Ladle... the correct way to serve gravy, creamed dishes, sauces, syrups - even cut up fruits.

Pie/Cake Server... slices and serves pies, cakes, pastries and fish.

Iced Beverage Spoon... You'll want these stirrers for iced tea, parfaits, sherbets, sodas - and retrieving food from tall jars.

Cocktail Fork... essential for seafood - and perfect for serving pickles, lemon slices and butter pats.

Send us an email or post a comment if you have other suggestions.

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U.S. Government Restriction on Pattern Pieces?

A blog reader sent in the following question:

I remember reading somewhere that the US government limited the number of pieces that could be made in any pattern. I believe I remember reading this was after the Victorian era because they created so many pieces. Is this true and if so what did they limit the number to?

No one in our group is aware of this. Can anyone out there help? Send an email or post a comment.

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Top 10 Most Popular Patterns of Sterling Flatware

This ought to get us in trouble!

Here's our opinion concerning the ten most popular sterling flatware patterns in terms of units still being purchased regularly. We have some "loose" statistics to back up our opinion but we don't have access to all sales data for new and used pieces. So, take it for what it's worth. It's just our opinion. The list is ordered more less by popularity as we see it but one could definitely argue that a particular pattern belongs higher or lower in the list.

• Chantilly by Gorham
• Francis I by Reed & Barton
• Prelude by International
• Repousse by Kirk-Stieff
• Old Master by Towle
• Royal Danish by international
• Grande Baroque by Wallace
• Strasbourg by Gorham
• Rose Point by Wallace
• Buttercup by Gorham

Please send us an email or post a comment if you have other ideas. We're going to post this list also in our Examiner.com column to see what arguments we can generate there.

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Information Request - Silver Flatware from Greece

We have been asked if we know anything about the flatware in the pictures. It's from Greece. The original owner lived in Greece many years ago.

We have no knowledge about this but if anyone out there knows anything about it, please post a comment or send us an email. For example, we would like to know pattern name, silver content, manufacturer, definition of the hallmark or anything else that will help the blog reader know more about this set.

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Inside a Hollow Handle Knife

After watching the YouTube video in the previous post, we decided to investigate the inside of a knife handle on our own. In the first picture is a fairly old Gorham Chantilly knife. We estimate that this knife is between 60 and 80 years old but that's just a guess. There was a crack in the blade so we didn't mind ripping it apart to see what was inside.


In the second and third pictures, you can see where we have peeled the sterling outer casing of the handle back a bit. You can see the round shaft of the blade embedded in epoxy inside the handle. We have knocked a bit of the epoxy away at this point.

The third and fourth pictures show the sterling casing with roughly half the epoxy removed. In the fourth picture, you can see a bit of the remaining epoxy in the lower portion of the handle.

The final picture shows the knife blade with the round extension normally embedded in epoxy. You can see indentations probably designed to help it grip the epoxy. There is a bit of epoxy laying beside the blade. This was taken from the tip of the handle. You can just make out some of the Chantilly design in the epoxy.

We weighed the sterling we removed from the knife. It was roughly 30% of the weight of the original knife. We don't know if that's a good working estimate for all such knives because construction techniques may differ.

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Example of Hollow Handle & Weighted Sterling

We ran across this YouTube video recently. It illustrates the construction of hollow handle sterling flatware and weighted candlesticks. It's not great quality but watch and listen carefully - you'll understand the basics. It's worth watching.

Refining Silver Flatware and Tableware

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Question About Ice Cream Forks

Ice cream fork and spoon from a 1914 Gorham
document describing the Chantilly pattern

A blog reader has sent us some questions about ice cream forks. Basically, she wants to know the history of such pieces and their status. For example, do sterling flatware manufacturers still make them and if not, when did they stop?

I don't have the detailed answers the reader seeks. We'll appreciate comments or emails from anyone who has facts on this topic. Thanks to any who respond.

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Extreme Case of Tarnish

We've discussed in several articles the effects of sulphur on sterling flatware resulting in tarnish. Here's an interesting case regarding more serious tarnish.

In the news media recently, there have been many reports regarding a problem with drywall material manufactured in China. It seems that the drywall emits a gas containing sulphur. Copper pipes and appliance components containing copper are being affected.

The web site, Chinese Drywall Complaint Center, contains information about the problem. We have no idea who actually manages the web site but the information seems reasonable.

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Uniformity Throughout the Years - NOT!

We've been in the sterling flatware business long enough to notice an annoying problem. Pieces made by the same manufacturer may not be uniform in size and weight over the years.

Here's a specific example. In the picture below is an oval soup spoon in one of our new favorite patterns, Old Maryland Engraved by Kirk-Steiff. We have two sets of this specific piece currently in our inventory that we obtained from different sources. The spoons are 6 5/8 inches long.

At first glance, the two sets appear identical. They both have the hallmark, "S. Kirk & Son Sterling". Upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that they are not identical. The spoons in one set weigh about 36 grams each while the spoons in the other set each weigh about 48 grams, or 33% heavier than the lighter spoons! The handle of the lighter spoons appears thinner than the handle of the heavier spoons.

So, if you owned some spoons like this already and you later added to your set, you might not have identical spoons. Are your guests going to notice this? Probably not, but it is annoying that you can't depend upon uniformity even within the same piece in the same pattern.

We're guessing that the corporate buyouts of the Kirk name over the years have led to the slimming down of the pieces - to save money, thereby making a greater profit. We love this pattern and we hate to see discrepancies like this.

So, the moral of this story is - if you are trying to match existing pieces and you are a stickler for exact matches, consult with your selling sources so you understand the details about your potential purchase. Check all dimensions and the weight.

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Examiner.com Sterling Articles

This is to let you know that we now write the articles for the Sterling Silver section of Examiner.com. You can see all the articles at:

Examiner Sterling Silver Articles

We have to say that most of the information presented there duplicates what you will find on this blog. We are trying to find new readers through Examiner.com but wanted blog readers to know about it.


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Commodity Silver as an Investment

About once a week we receive some variation of the questions, "Is commodity silver a good investment?" and "Where is the price of silver headed?"

Although we track the price of commodity silver because of a general interest, we really do not have enough knowledge about the subject to offer any advice. We did discover this article on Wikipedia that gives some facts on the subject (primarily history): Silver as an Investment.

I do know that owning any precious metal can be cumbersome. If I was going to play in the commodity silver market, I would probably look at buying stock in silver mines or perhaps one of the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) that focus on owning silver. This comment should not be considered as financial advice. Talk to experts and read everything you can about precious metal investing before jumping in.

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Patina in a Jar

We've mentioned in several posts that French gray and patina are desirable attributes that develop over time on sterling pieces. We've also talked about cleaners that remove these attributes resulting in a bland looking piece, in our opinion. Finally, we've suggested ways to restore patina and French gray in a shorter period of time than it takes under natural conditions.

Here's something we've not mentioned: Liver of Sulphur. This is a product that can quickly tarnish a sterling piece. We have never used it so we will not attempt to explain how to use it nor do we over any opinion regarding the pros and cons of its use.

Based on what we've read, the concept is simple but care must be taken to get just the effect you want. Here is a review article we found on the eBay web site that describes how to use this product: How to use Liver of Sulphur for Metal Patina. Do your own Google search - you'll find all sorts of reference articles.

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Saint Genesius Medal Cleaning Question

A reader sent us this question.

Jim, I have a round, Saint Genesius medal necklace, purchased about 1973. It is slightly larger than a quarter and about the same thickness. I believe it was purchased from a religious supplier…maybe from NYC???.

On the bottom is stamped “Sterling Creel” or “Sterling Greel”. No one seems to know what this is and I haven’t found anything on the Internet about it. The biggest reason I’m asking…aside from general curiosity…is that silver polishing cloths and solutions do not clean it. The only way I that has worked is to use a soft polishing wheel on my Dremel tool – on slow. I’ve only done this twice in 35 years because I know it’s removing silver as well as the tarnish. The tarnishing is extremely uneven. The relief image on the front seems to polish up a little, but the tarnish on the smooth back
doesn’t.

Any information or suggestions?

Thank you very much. This is THE MOST prized possession I have.

If anyone out there has some information about this, leave a comment or send us an email.

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Candelabra Identification Question

A reader named Jeffrey has asked for assistance in identifying the candelabra shown in these pictures. I am not familiar with the mark, "SA". If you have any ideas, please add your comment or send us an email.

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An Ad for Our Ads

In the right column of this blog you can find ads placed there automatically by Google. You only see two but there are actually ten. You can access the others with the up and down arrows. Ads also appear near the very bottom of the screen.

Google tries to place ads that relate to the content of the blog. If you are displaying the entire blog, you can count on the fact to 80% or more of the ads will relate to silver somehow. Many will be for sellers of sterling silver. If you are looking to buy, click on these ads to check out what's available and at what price. If you are looking to sell, click on the same ads and look for information regarding how to sell to the advertiser.

If you are displaying only a single blog entry, the ads may vary quite a bit. For example, if the article you are displaying talks about knives, you may see an ad for a seller of Bowie knives! So, for the best ad content, make sure you are displaying the entire blog.

Google also provides a search tool in the right column. Searching from this blog has some predefined search criteria relating to silver. You'll find more ads among the displayed search results, also silver related.

We encourage you to check out these ads if you are looking for anything related to silver.

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An "Eggciting" Tarnish Experiment

We've mentioned several times the effect certain foods can have on sterling. We decided to have a little fun with one of the primary culprits - eggs! We boiled an egg, cut it into small pieces and placed them in a bowl. We placed a silver plate piece next to the bowl and kept them overnight inside a cake container. You see the before and after pictures below along with a picture of the cake container.

BEFORE

AFTER

The "after" picture really does not show how dramatic the change was. The sulphur in the egg caused significant tarnish in just 12 hours. The moral of this story is to wash your sterling soon after being exposed to eggs!

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How Much Silver is in a Sterling Knife?

A blog reader recently emailed us some questions about sterling knives that we can't answer. His basic question was, "How can you determine how much silver is actually in a sterling knife?" Here are the two basic problems we all face in trying to address this question:

• Knife blades almost always are NOT sterling (in modern times, there are made of stainless steel)
• Knife handles are filled with a cement of some type to hold the blade to the handle

Without taking the knife apart, it's difficult to determine the weight of actual silver content.

This reader thought that there might be some reference sources that could help determine silver content for different patterns and manufacturers.

We would really like to hear from readers knowledgeable about this subject.

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Effect of Silver on Your Health

We recently received an email from a reader regarding a sterling water pitcher she was using. The water from the pitcher had a slight metallic taste, which she actually liked, but she was wondering about health issues. I have summarized her comments into the questions, adding some of my own:

• Could silver (or some other metal) be leeching into the water while it sits in the pitcher?
• If silver is in the water, is it bad for your health?
• Or does it have some positive impact?

We don't feel competent to answer any of these questions definitively. However, we'll offer some comments and pose some questions of our own.

1. Could there be something in the local water supply that's reacting with the sterling? Try pouring some bottled purified water into the pitcher and then drink it. Maybe you should rinse the pitcher thoroughly with purified water as a first step. Does it still taste metallic?
2. Have the tap water chemically analyzed and have some tap water that's been sitting in the pitcher for an hour or so analyzed to see if there is a difference.
3. Invite some neighbors in for a blind taste test to see if they can pick the water from the pitcher!
4. Silver in high enough concentration is bad for you. In severe cases, it will make your skin turn permanently gray. Really!
5. We have heard of health supplements containing silver but we can't comment on their effectiveness for anything and we would not ingest them ourselves.

This is a new topic for us and we hope readers who have more information will post comments or send us emails.

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"Still in Sealed Plastic Sleeve"

We are often asked variations of this question by people interested in selling, "I have some sterling flatware pieces still new in their unopened plastic sleeves. Can I get a higher price for these pieces?" Believe it or not, my answer is, "Yes, but not nearly as much as you think!"

We can't explain it but the marketplace seems to lump all "used" pieces together, even those pieces still in plastic. Maybe it's like the "driving the car off the showroom floor" devaluation syndrome. Here are some other possibilities for the phenomenon:

• Buyers don't trust sellers - maybe the bags have been resealed, not a difficult task


• Poor storage causes damage - abrasions, bends and dents can develop from rough handling during storage even though the pieces are in plastic


• Not all plastic bags remain 100% airtight - we have seen tarnish on pieces that look to be in original sealed bags

So, don't automatically expect to get prices near retail for your sealed pieces. Sorry!

Check the pictures below. They are all of the same fork in what seems to be the original sealed plastic sleeve.

It's hard to tell from the pictures because of the sleeve itself but you can see tiny specks of tarnish at the base of the tines.

Tarnish is really obvious around the words, "Gorham Sterling".

Tarnish is not a serious problem and this fork will polish out to be beautiful. But, technically, it will no longer be "new".

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Need Strasbourg Identification Help

A blog reader has requested help in identifying this Gorham Strasbourg spoon. It's nine inches long with a bowl that's 2 3/4 inches long. Does anyone out there know the proper name of this piece? If so, add a comment to this post or send us an email.


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Why We Hate Chemical Dips!

We've mentioned a few times already that we don't recommend the use of chemical dips to clean sterling flatware. Here's an example of why we say that.

We recently came across some nice Chantilly dinner knives that were in pretty good shape. It was obvious that some of the handles had been cleaned with a chemical dip. In the picture below, the knife on the right is an example. There was one knife in the group that had not been dipped - it's shown on the left. We have not tried to clean them or polish them in any way so far.

Look how "lifeless" and plain the knife on the right looks. The dip has removed all traces of patina and French gray from the knife on the right that the knife on the left still exhibits. And, we still have to polish the knife on the right because the dip leaves a residue on the surface! We'll polish both of these and when we're done, the one on the left will be have much more character than the one on the right. We won't attempt to remove the French gray deep within the pattern of the knife on the left.


Here's an example of another problem - it looks like the person who dipped these knife handles got some of the chemical on the blades. Look at the permanent shadows now embedded in the blade of the knife in the picture below. Beautiful knives were damaged when this could have been avoided.

We cannot tell a lie - we do use chemical dip now and then but not over an entire piece. The most common area is between fork tines where it's hard to polish. We use a Q-tip with the chemical dip to clean between the tines. And, very rarely, we need to remove some excess tarnish from deep within the pattern somewhere. We use a toothpick with a tiny drop of the dip on the tip of the toothpick!

So, please don't immerse your nice sterling in a dip. Let it build up a nice patina over the years.

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eBay Reviews and Guides

Have you had trouble finding the information you need regarding sterling flatware? Here's another source of information:

eBay Reviews and Guides

I suggest entering "sterling flatware" in the keyword search field as a starting search. You can refine your search once you see the type of information available. You''ll probably be more interested in Guides than Reviews. Most of these were written by people who have knowledge about a specific subject. For example, you can find Guides that discuss these topics related to sterling:

• Cleaning
• Buying
• Selling
• Identifying
• Specific manufacturers
• Silver purity
• Setting the table

Be aware that some Guides may not be completely accurate or the author may have a particular bias so don't assume that you have the best answer. On the other hand, this is a good place to go for additional information.

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About Teaspoons

The teaspoon is probably the most common piece of sterling flatware in use. If you're like me, you have extra teaspoons in your set. It's so common that we don't give it much thought. But, there are subtle touches to to the teaspoon family.

I assume that all sterling flatware patterns include at least one style of teaspoon, typically in the length range of 5 7/8 inches to 6 inches. This spoon is used mostly to stir hot tea or coffee but it also could be used as an ice cream spoon, a jelly serving spoon, a condiment spoon and other purposes. Notice that I said "hot tea"; here in the South when we say "tea", we most often mean "iced tea".

The picture below illustrates three types of spoons in the Prelude pattern by International. The longest spoon is the standard teaspoon (6 inches). The middle spoon is often called a "youth" spoon (5 3/8 inches). The smallest spoon is a demitasse spoon (4 1/8 inches) used to stir Turkish coffee or espresso.

The middle spoon could also be used as a "five o'clock" spoon. Many patterns include five o'clock spoons that are only about 1/4 inch shorter than standard teaspoons.



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We Need Topics!

This blog has been in operation for ten months. Almost 12,000 readers have "visited" the blog. Most of the posts have been created based upon what we thought might be of interest to readers.

We would like to have direct input from you regarding topics of interest to you that we have not covered. Please send an email or post a comment and tell us what you would like to read about. If we don't know much about your topic, we'll create a post asking others for input.

Let us hear from you!

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What's My Sterling Worth? - Revisited

The hottest general topic on this blog, based on web pages actually viewed and search terms used in Google and other search engines, is some variation on the theme, "How do I sell my sterling flatware and how much is it worth?" Last year, we decided to test the waters and secured real quotes, in writing, from three different reputable businesses that buy and sell used sterling flatware - a very large dealer, a large dealer and a small dealer.

We've seen these businesses sell on eBay and we've seen web sites and catalogs of theirs outside of eBay. We've seen their ads pop up in the Google ads in the right column and at the bottom of this blog.

We told them we had a set of Gorham Chantilly in excellent condition with no monograms that we wanted to sell. The 56 pieces in this fictitious set were:

• Eight place-size forks, 7.5 inches long
• Eight place-size knives, 9.25 inches long
• Eight salad forks
• Eight teaspoons
• Eight iced tea spoons
• Eight oval soup spoons
• One gravy ladle
• One sugar spoon
• Two serving tablespoons
• One pierced serving tablespoon
• One cold meat fork
• One cake/pie server
• One flat master butter knife

The three quotes we received to purchase our set ranged from $872.00 to $938.00, a difference of $66.00, or 7%. For the highest quote, the average price per piece was $16.75.

So, if you had a set like this in excellent condition, you could expect to get at least $938.00 for it. All three dealers included in the wording of their quotes a caveat that if the set was not in excellent condition according to their guidelines, the price would be less.

We should insert a note here to say that at the time these quotes were generated, commodity silver was around $20.00 per Troy ounce. Today, it's in the $14.25 ballpark. This may affect negatively a price quote we might obtain today but probably not terribly much. If we're selling to a scrap dealer, the commodity price drop would have a more significant impact.

What was the retail price of this set? Prices from multiple retailers were well over $5,000.

So, what's this set worth? It all depends on who's buying and who's selling! If you use the retail price as your benchmark, you may be disappointed in what you are actually able to sell your set for. On the other hand, if you can find an end-user buyer who will want your set for personal use, you can probably get more than what the dealers offered. Consignment shops, craigslist.org and eBay are three possible channels that come to mind to try to reach this end-user buyer.

As always, comments and emails on this subject are welcome.

FYI for any techies interested: We are able to tell what pages have been viewed and what search terms were used by accessing a web tool called "Google Analytics".

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Caveat Emptor Reminder

Followers of this blog should know by now that we are not fans of made up, or "custom", sterling flatware pieces. However, we can see they might address a specific need of a collector. So, they are OK as long as:

• The buyer has a need that can be addressed by a made up piece
• The price is appropriate
• The buyer likes the look and feel of the piece
• The seller discloses that the piece is made up

What brings this subject to mind yet again is a plethora of made up pieces being offered on eBay. Not all of the sellers disclose in their listings that the pieces are made up. Here are some clues to look for:

• The handles strongly resemble dinner knife handles
• The seller offers strikingly similar pieces in many patterns
• The seller offers many pieces that have similar handles but different utility ends

Some made up pieces are not made with knife handles but are "carved" from other pieces. For example, a teaspoon or dessert spoon might be converted into an ice cream spoon.

If you are unsure of a piece you are considering, ask the seller about it. If you would like to read other posts about made up pieces, look in the column on the right under "Labels" and click on "Made Up".

We welcome your thoughts on this subject and we are willing to post comments from sellers of made up pieces.

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About Forks, Part II

One of our earliest posts was called About Forks. Later, we added a post called Luncheon, Place & Dinner Size - What's the Difference?. Both posts dealt with the various sizes of forks one might find within a single pattern. This post adds additional information along the same line.

Sticking with our old friend, Chantilly by Gorham, for yet another example, we remind you that in the Chantilly pattern, there are two basic fork categories that are about 7.5 inches long - a "place" fork and a "dinner" fork (called "table" fork in early Gorham literature). The place fork is slightly narrower and lighter than the dinner fork. On the back of place forks in several patterns, Gorham imprints the letter, "P", inside a diamond shape.

The heavier dinner fork does not have any special marks regarding its size. Now, here's the rub, at least in the Chantilly pattern - Gorham has made at least two different dinner forks. Look at the picture below. The dinner fork on the bottom is the one we see most often. It has tines that are 2 inches long. The dinner fork on top has tines that are 2 3/8 inches long. Since both forks are 7.5 inches long overall, the top fork has a slightly shorter handle than the one on the bottom and the base area of the tines is also slightly shorter. The fork on top is about 1/16 inch wider than the one on the bottom.

So, if you are buying additional dinner forks, especially in the Chantilly pattern, make sure you understand how long the tines are. Most sellers, us included, will make sure that you know about it if the tines are 2 3/8 inches but we might not mention it if the tines are 2 inches. If it's not specified for some forks you're considering buying, ask the seller about it.

Here's another reminder - many sellers state in their ads that they are selling dinner forks when, in reality, they are selling luncheon forks, dessert forks or place forks. Always understand the overall length, width and tine length of forks you're considering. And, in the case of Gorham patterns, understand the distinction between place and dinner forks.

If you would like to see all our posts about forks at one time, look in the right column under "Labels" and click on "Forks".

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About Asparagus Serving Pieces

We visited a very large antique show in Atlanta a couple of months ago. There were several dealers there who specialized in various forms of silver pieces. At least two dealers had large supplies of ice scoops and asparagus servers in various popular sterling flatware patterns. The pieces were all selling in the $40 to $50 range.

On close inspection of the pieces, it appeared that they were not manufactured by the original sterling flatware companies that owned the patterns. Instead, they looked like they each had a hollow handle cut from original pattern knives to which had been attached a "custom" ice scoop or asparagus server hood. In other words, these were "made up" pieces. You might refer to earlier posts regarding made up pieces. In the right column of this blog, under "Labels", click on "Made Up".

So, that set us to thinking, "What's real and what's not?" We looked at a book published by The Gorham Company in 1914 regarding their Chantilly pattern. The picture below was found in that book. Based on this picture, it looks like Gorham manufactured two basic types of Chantilly asparagus serving pieces at that time: an "asparagus fork" and an "asparagus server". The fork appears to have been made of solid sterling while the server had an attached "hood" that might have been made of sterling, silver plate or something else.

Here is a picture of "asparagus tongs" taken from the book published by The Gorham Company in 1910 regarding their Strasbourg pattern.
It appears that the current market price for these pieces varies widely depending upon the construction. We reviewed sales of asparagus serving pieces that actually sold on eBay over the last couple of weeks. Prices ranged from about $40.00 for an asparagus server with a non-sterling hood to about $560.00 for a solid sterling Chantilly asparagus fork and about $650.00 for Strasbourg asparagus tongs (the tongs looked different from the picture above).

We're not saying that you should not buy a "made up" piece. If it meets your needs and you like it and it's reasonably priced, buy it. What we are saying is that you should understand precisely what you are buying.

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What Exactly is Coin Silver?

Well, we can't define it "exactly". Coin silver flatware was manufactured in America from early colonial times to just after the Civil War. The raw material was melted European coins of the time. They were about 90% pure silver. Compare this purity with that of sterling which is 92.5% pure silver.

We found other references to coin silver flatware that included purity levels as low as 80% pure silver. Therefore, it's difficult to tell the purity definitively.

Coin silver may have a silversmith stamp consisting of the first letter and last initial stamped on the piece. Sometimes the city of manufacture was also stamped on the piece. Hallmarks are not consistent which does not help matters. We understand that several books are available on the subject that might help identify a particular piece by its hallmark.

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What Exactly is Hollowware?

Here's how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it:

vessels (as bowls, cups, or vases) usually of pottery, glass, or metal that have a significant depth and volume

So, "hollowware" (spelled "holloware" by some) pieces may not contain silver at all. Always understand precisely what a piece is made of before you buy it. If it seems to be silver, is it sterling or silver plate (or something else)? If it's sterling, is it solid sterling or weighted with something internally?
Above is a picture of a sterling pot, an example of hollowware. Below is a close-up picture of the bottom where you can see the word, "sterling".

Some people include items like serving trays within the hollowware definition. Although there is really nothing seriously wrong with doing this, it does not conform exactly to the definition so, again, make sure you know what the pieces are specifically.

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Tired of Searching on eBay Over & Over?

Are you looking for that elusive piece of sterling flatware on eBay? Are you tired of going to eBay everyday to perform the same search? Why not let eBay do the work for you?

You can set up a "saved search" in eBay and whenever eBay finds a match for your search, it will send you an email. Suppose you are looking for a pickle fork in the Old Maryland Engraved pattern by Kirk-Stieff. I couldn't find one of these in eBay today, so I created a saved search to notify me when one is put up for sale. Here are the steps:

• Click on "Advanced Search"
• Type in your search parameters
• Click the "Search" button
• Click "Save this search"
• In the new little window that pops up, give your search a name and specify how long you want to keep receiving emails related to this search (12 months is the maximum)
• In the little window, click "Save"

Whenever someone places a new listing in eBay that meets your criteria, you'll receive an email. There is no obligation to bid or buy.

Here's what I typed as the search criteria for this pickle fork:

old maryland (pickle, pickel, lemon, olive) fork

Here's why:

• I left off the word "engraved" because some sellers leave it out of the listing title. However, there is a pattern called "Old Maryland" so I may get some incorrect hits.
• Some sellers incorrectly identify pickle forks, calling them lemon or olive forks.
• Some sellers can't spell very well.

Send us a comment or question if you have other suggestions.

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Help Cleaning Steel Knife Blades

A reader emailed us this question:

I want to ask a question about pitting on steel blades attached to silver handles: does anyone have any suggestions how to remove it? I have a lovely 1930's set of sold silver Kings Pattern dinner knives and the steel blades are pitted. I don't particularly want to have the blades replaced. I wonder whether any of your bloggers could suggest a solution to my problem.

I've not had much luck with this issue. I would also like to find a better way of polishing out abrasions on stainless steel blades. Does anyone out there have a solution? Send us an email or post a comment to this post.

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Dessert Fork vs. Luncheon Fork

Many patterns include a fork that is roughly 7 inches long - this size is called a "luncheon" fork by many. We propose that such forks might actually have been designated "dessert" forks by the manufacturer. Look below at the picture taken from The "Buttercup" Spoons and Forks printed by Gorham Manufacturing Co. in 1900.

This document illustrates the pieces in actual size. The dessert fork is about 6 7/8 inches long. It appears to be ever so slightly wider and shorter than the "luncheon" fork we see today in the Buttercup pattern. Similar dessert forks also appear in Gorham catalogs of the same era for Strasbourg and Chantilly.

So, measure your forks carefully and make sure you know what you are buying when you add to your collection. We are interested in your thoughts on this subject. Leave a comment or send an email.

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The First "Revere Bowl"

In honor of our nation's birthday, this seems an appropriate topic for a silver-related blog. The term Revere bowl brings to mind a bowl with simple, classic lines. Although I think of a Revere bowl as being made of sterling, or at least silver plate, bowls of this shape have been made from many different materials. We know that Paul Revere was a silversmith so the connection between his name and a silver bowl is natural. But where did the design really originate?

The first Revere bowl is in the collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It's actually called the Sons of Liberty Bowl or Liberty Bowl. Paul Revere was commissioned in 1768 to make the bowl by fifteen members of the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization to which Revere belonged. According to the museum's web site:

The bowl honors ninety-two members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who refused to rescind their letter sent throughout the colonies protesting the Townshend Acts of 1767, which taxed tea, paper, glass, and other commodities imported from England. This act of civil disobedience by the "Glorious Ninety-Two" was the first public act of rebellion against the British crown and a major step leading to the American Revolution.

You can find much more information about the bowl and many pictures at the museum link above.

May we all have a joyous and safe Fourth of July!

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Another Reference Source - Hallmarks & Patterns

We received a comment today from the folks at Antique Sterling Research. Their blog has an impressive list of hallmarks and pattern identification information. If you are trying to identify hallmarks or a sterling flatware pattern, check it out.

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Piece of the Day - Chocolate Muddler

Now and then, we'll post a "Piece of the Day" as we run across interesting pieces. Today's piece is a Gorham Buttercup chocolate muddler. We chose it because we like the name! The picture below was copied from The "Buttercup" Spoons and Forks, published in 1900 by Gorham Manufacturing Company. The piece is 8 3/8 inches long.

We have never used a chocolate muddler but we read on WorthPoint.com that they are used to stir hot chocolate in chocolate pots to prevent the chocolate from settling in the bottom.

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Another Reference Source

We've come across another web site that answers questions about sterling. We don't profess to have all the answers and welcome new resources. In fact, we recently submitted a question to this web site ourselves!

Michelle at allexperts.com provides quick and helpful responses to questions about sterling.

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We're Now Linked to Facebook!

We've set up a "page" in Facebook called Sterling Silver. The goal is to have Facebook users interested in sterling silver become "fans" of the new page. Most posts on the page will actually link back to posts in this blog.

If you are a Facebook user and would like to become a fan, log in to Facebook, search for "Sterling Silver" and look for the picture of the salad fork on a black background. Click on "Become a Fan". If you are already a regular reader of this blog, the new benefit you will receive by becoming a fan is the ability to see comments left by other Facebook users.

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Gorham Buttercup Hallmark Help Needed

We received a request from a reader regarding Gorham hallmarks on the Buttercup sterling flatware pattern specifically. Here's the question.

If a Buttercup piece has the old hallmarks of "Lion/Anchor/G Sterling", does it always also have a reference to "Patent 1900" on the piece?

This reader has some Buttercup pieces with old Gorham hallmarks that do not have any reference to "Patent 1900" on them and the reader is concerned. Some of these pieces were inherited and some were purchased over the years from a large, reputable dealer in used sterling flatware.

I have some guesses about this but would rather have an explanation from someone who knows for sure. Post a comment or send an email if you have the answer.

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Ice Cream Fork & Spoon Caveat Emptor

This is a follow up to an earlier post, "Made Up Sterling Flatware Pieces".

I'm seeing a number of sterling "Ice Cream Forks" and "Ice Cream Spoons" being advertised for sale. Be aware that many of these are not original pieces from the manufacturer. They are pieces that have been created from other pieces. For example, someone might take a spoon and carve out tines to make it look like an ice cream fork.

To be fair, most of the sellers have identified the pieces as being "custom". Also, many manufacturers did make legitimate ice cream forks and spoons.

So, read the fine print carefully before you buy.

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How Can I Tell If It's Real Silver? - Part 2

Back in February, we posted an article, "How Can I Tell If It's Real Silver". This is a followup to that post.

There is another way to try to identify the metal content of a piece - by using an acid test - literally! We purchased a test kit with a small vial of acid. The metal will react with the acid and the color to which the liquid changes is a clue regarding metal content. We tried it on a sterling piece and it appeared to work. In the case of "92.5% silver", which is the definition of sterling, the color was a dark red.

So, if you really want to do this, you can find these acid kits on eBay. Be aware that you have to scratch the piece a bit in order to perform the test. The acid also dulls the piece and leaves a mark. You probably can polish that out. You can use this kit to try to identify:

• Pure silver
• 92.5% silver (sterling)
• 80.0% silver
• 50% silver
• Lead
• Tin
• Brass
• Copper
• Nickel
• Zinc
• Palladium
• Gold

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Why is My Sterling Candelabra Worth So Little?

We receive questions from time to time from people who want to know why they can't get more cash for their sterling candelabra and single candlesticks. After all, it is sterling!

One answer may be that the piece really does not have all that much sterling as a percentage of total composition. Many pieces like this are mostly a cement compound with a thin covering of sterling. The piece might also contain lead, wax, sand or some other supporting material. The sterling covering could be very thin. There may be so little sterling overall that it's not worth even selling it for scrap.

I'm not saying this is the case for all pieces like this but it is true for many. If I was buying such a piece, I would be very conservative with my offer price because I would not know how much sterling is actually in the piece.

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New Information on Silver Plate Value

We may have done owners of silver plated pieces a disservice! In our post, "Do Used Silverplate Pieces Have Any Value", we implied that they had very little value. Well, we were not totally accurate.

Yesterday, we were talking with a silver appraiser regarding two candelabra pieces. The smaller candelabra was made of sterling and the larger more elaborate piece was silver plated. The appraiser valued the silver plated piece at about three times the value of the sterling piece. His reasons:

• The silver plated piece was made by a well-known English manufacturer; it had a very nice design and was in excellent condition
• The sterling piece was plainer, its design was of the 1960's (not very distinctive) and just not as nice looking

So, we stand corrected. Silver plated pieces of high quality and nice design can be valuable.

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Consignment Shops for Selling

I happened to be in a nice consignment shop today and was impressed with their display of sterling pieces. I don't know why I have not mentioned this approach to selling sterling before. So, if you are looking to sell something, this might be worth trying. Here are some points that come to mind (my opinions only):

• I think selling a complete set might be better than selling odd pieces.
• Find a shop that deals in high end items, such as nice antiques. It should have a good assortment of sterling pieces for sale.
• Be reasonable in your pricing. Do your homework before going to the shop.
• Make sure you can remove your sterling from the shop after a reasonable time.
• Polish your sterling!

I probably would not go to a consignment shop to hunt for pieces to fill in an existing set but if I was in the market for a complete set, I might search there.

I'd be interested in hearing about your experience with such shops. Add a comment or send us an email.

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New Links to Current Commodity Silver Price

We receive lots of questions about the market price of pure silver. So, we've added a couple of new features.

Firstly, in the right column of the screen, you will see a small graph containing the current day's pricing of commodity silver. This chart is provided by http://www.kitco.com/.

Secondly, we've added new links to "Our Favorite Links" in the right column of the screen. Clicking on "NYMEX Commodity Silver Prices" will take you to a web page of the New York Mercantile Exchange that displays more information about silver prices. The "Quotes" in the lower right of that screen gives you a snapshot of recent quote activity.

FYI, today, May 29, 2009, the ending price was $15.60 per Troy ounce. That means that the scrap value of a Chantilly place fork in terms of silver content is just under $25.00 today. If you had to sell your fork to a scrap dealer, you could probably get between $13.00 and $15.00 for it.

We also have added a link to a "Precious Metal Calculator". There are several calculators out there but we like this one because of its simplicity. Here are the items to be input:

• Enter the weight in grams
• Select "grams" as the units
• Select ".925 Silver" as the metal
• Enter "-40" in as the markup/discount
• Click "Calculate Value"

The displayed value is a rough idea of what a scrap dealer would be willing to pay you for your sterling.

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Wallace Hallmark Info Request

We received the following request from a blog reader. Can anyone help? I have already referred the reader to www.925-1000.com.

Hi -- I am interested in understanding (seeing) the various hallmarks Wallace used on its sterling pieces, and when they were used. I've seen several.

I am specifically interested in the two patterns called "Irving" and "Old Atlanta", and have suspected that some pieces, which were said to be Irving, are actually Old Atlanta. Now I'm considering some pieces the I think are Old Atlanta, but the seller is insisting that the hallmark shows it is actually Irving, since it is an older hallmark.

I appreciate your help with this. Can't seem to find anything that details the dates with a photo of the marking.

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Identification Help Request

Here is a request we received from a blog reader.

I am sending you a picture of a Hallmark that we cannot find. We have looked all over and no one seems to know where it comes from or what it means. Can you look at the Hallmark on my old tableware and tell me where I can find where it came from. The Hallmark I am sending is on the old case as well as on the back of the tableware.

This is really an unusual one. Does anyone know its origin? Post a comment or send us an email.

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What does "E P" Mean on Silverplate?

We received this question from a blog reader:

I have a Gorham silver plate coffee pot. On the bottom of the coffee pot it reads in script Gorham followed by an E then an anchor inside of shield followed by a P then the word Brass. What does the E and P mean? I thought it might stand for electroplate.

We really don't know the answer but we found this review on eBay, SILVER BY GORHAM MARKED E P. Does anyone out there have a better idea? Send us an email or add a comment if you do.

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What Does "HH" Mean?

HH is an abbreviation for Hollow Handle. Most sterling flatware pieces are made completely of sterling silver. However, pieces such as knives and pie/cake servers often have blades made of other material such as stainless steel. The sterling handles of these pieces generally are 100% sterling but they are also hollow. The hollow part will be filled with some sort of epoxy to hold the blade firmly in place.

Some pieces, such as master butter knives and butter spreaders, may come in multiple versions within a pattern. Some may have hollow handles and some may have "flat handles" (FH). The flat handle pieces most likely will be all sterling, including the blades, whereas the hollow handle pieces may have non-sterling components.

See the post on this blog titled, "Butter Handling Utensils" for more explanation. You can find it quickly by clicking on "Butter Utensils" under "Labels" in the right column of the screen.

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Do Newer Flatware Pieces Contain Less Silver?

Let's assume we're talking about sterling pieces. All sterling pieces contain 92.5% pure silver so, ounce for ounce, newer pieces contain the same amount of silver as older pieces. The key phrase here is "ounce for ounce". Manufacturers have been known to manufacture similar pieces with different weights over the years. So, for example, if a fork manufactured in 1940 weighs 60 grams and the same fork in the same pattern manufactured in 1990 weighs 55 grams, the newer fork will have less silver content simply because it has less overall weight than the older piece.

When comparing pieces, you should:

• Make sure the two pieces are the same (not luncheon fork versus dinner fork, for example)
• Weigh them, preferably using grams as the unit of measure
• Assume the heavier piece has more silver

There is one caveat - it's difficult to compare knives and other pieces with non-sterling components.

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Identification Help Request

A blog reader has asked for help in identifying a piece. The item in the picture below weighs about three ounces and holds about one ounce liquid. Can anyone out there tell us what it is?

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