Silver serving dishes, trays, tea sets and flatware were a must have in the households of the mid-1900s. Our mothers and grandmothers would never have considered serving a formal dinner without them. Beautiful by design and often referred to as the family silver, these pieces were often not silver at all, but rather copper pieces that were coated with a small amount of silver. They are what is referred to as silver-plate and they are often mistaken for the valuable counterpart, sterling sliver.
There are many different terms used to describe various alloys sold as silver, yet some of them contain no silver at all. If you are purchasing for investment reasons, or holding on to family pieces thinking of them as money in the bank, it is important to know if what you believe to be sterling silver actually is. To be truly informed requires research and study. But let’s take a look at a few basic facts to get you started.
In 1847 Rogers Brothers, the most prolific American factory for silver plate production from 1860-1950, developed an electro-plating process for covering copper or other lesser value metals with a silver finish. It was offered the buying public as a way to set an elegant table at a fraction of the price of sterling and was an instant success. These pieces of plate are quite common and will often be marked on the back or underside of the silver saying “1847 Rogers Brothers” or “Wm. Rogers”. These are not sterling silver. This might also be a good place to mention that 1847 is a part of the company name and does not denote the year of production.
Due, in large part, to the popularity of silver plate, all American-made sterling silver tableware, serving pieces, decorative items, jewelry, etc. made after 1850 was required by law to be marked “sterling,” ” sterling silver,”‘ or “925.” The absence of one of these marks is an indicator that you are looking at a piece of plate, or possibly European or American coin silver.
There are two common types of “non-sterling” silver. The most common is Coin Silver or 900, which is only 90% silver. Also watch for European which will be marked 800. 825, 830 or 850, indicating the percentage of actual silver present. They do contain a measurable amount of silver, but do not qualify as sterling.
I often have clients quote me the current market value of silver per ounce and then tell me how much their pieces weigh, believing that they have determined the value of their sterling. To avoid this misconception there are two things to remember:
• One Troy ounce of sterling silver = 31.2 grams x .925 or 28.86 grams of pure silver. This means that if silver is currently valued at $17 an ounce your silver has a melt value of $15.72 an ounce.
• The price you hear reported on the evening financial report or view online is NOT what you receive when you sell your silver. There is no place that you can take an ounce of silver and receive “melt price.” The value you are hearing is the price for the most recent COMEX futures from a Chicago Commodities Exchange Silvers Contract. It is the value on 5,000 ounces of pure silver when delivered to the floor of the COMEX in Chicago and is a privilege reserved for only the large commodities firms. Until next time……….Linda
Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates and may be reached at 317-258-7835 or lkennett@indy.rr.com
