The Collectors
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Thursday 17 November 2005
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Now it’s over to Gordon who’s been taking a close look at that most common of collections - the family silver. If you’ve ever wondered what those tiny hallmarks mean, this is for you.
The first thing one should do when identifying a piece of silver is to look to see if there is a hallmark. There are a number of hallmarks to look for: the first will be the sponsor or makers mark, second is the stirling standard, third will be the town mark, fourth is the date letter and finally there may be a monarch's head. These hallmarks tell everything about a piece.
The monarch's head hallmark indicated that tax had been paid on the silver between 1784 and 1890. In 1300 it was declared that Stirling Silver would be 92.5% pure silver, the same as British coinage.
Silver plate is of course different and sometimes it may be difficult to tell the difference. Solid silver is very heavy. Silver plate can have many bases: Electro Plated Nickel Silver (EPNS) will start to wear as it is nickel based, Electroplate on Britania Metal (EPBM) is tin based so when the silver starts to wear it has a pewter-ish type colour. Silver plating can also have a copper base.
Silver is full of history and it is reasonably easy to date the heritage. The value of silver is based on historical interest and the maker. The value of silver items will only rise making it a good investment for any collection.
