QUESTION: Can I put my silver knives in the dishwasher?
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ANSWER: Sterling and silver plate knives should NOT be put in the dishwasher. Ever!
This is because the knife blade is usually held inside the hollow handle with a resin/asphaltum pitch material.
If the core of the knife handle gets too hot in the dishwasher from either hot water or the heat during the dry cycle, the pitch inside the handle may loosen and push the knife blade out of the handle.
QUESTION: My sterling silver knife handles are loose? Can they be repaired?
ANSWER: Knife blades can be reset into the handle but it is time consuming and messy process. The blades must be completely removed and reset. I always solder the blades to the handle so they do not become loose again.
QUESTION: The knife blades on my sterling silver handles look corroded & rusty? Can you fix these?
ANSWER: Knife blades (pre-WWII) were often silver-plated steel. ) Over time, the steel starts to rust and the silver plating peels off. The knife blades can not be replated, but can be replaced with a new stainless steel knife blade in a similar style. Other repair options include polishing the steel.
QUESTION: Is there anything I should do differently when cleaning/polishing silver plate vs sterling flatware? I am recently remarried and between my first husband's family and my current husband's family I have 4 full sets of flatware and 3 partial sets of flatware.
ANSWER: Polish silver and silverplate exactly the same way: by hand. Be very careful to only put away silver when it is clean and dry. If the flatware was on the table, it should always be washed even if it was not used just to insure there is no food on the silver. Food, especially salt, can ruin the polished finish of your flatware. View my silver polishing instructions by clicking here.
QUESTION: Some of the serving pieces from my husband's family have something that looks like corrosion on them in addition to the tarnish. Do you know what this might be? Is it dangerous? Is there anything I need to know about cleaning it off?
ANSWER: If the knives, forks, spoons, or serving pieces have black spots, they need to be polished professionally with a buffing machine using a buff and buffing compound. This is not a consumer level process as it can be dangerous. Do not try this at home! Very often these dark black spots are caused by food, especially if these silver pieces were not put away completely clean. Sterling silver serving pieces can be completely refinished. Silver plate needs to be looked at to see what can be done.
QUESTION: I have a metal plate "thingee" that you submerge in hot water and add an activating powder (baking soda or something?) and it's supposed to reverse the tarnishing on silver. Is this recommended or to be avoided?
ANSWER: AVOID all such products including those “aluminum foil recipes for removing tarnish.” It removes the oxidation in the recess of the pattern and turns the silver to a frosty white, etching the surface. The silver will still not be polished, and definitely looks unattractive. Dips like this etch the surface and can eat off silverplate. Do not use dips or recipes to remove tarnish.
QUESTION: How should I store my sterling salt and pepper shakers?
ANSWER: If your won't be using your silver salt shakers every day, I recommend removing the salt from the salt shakers. Wash the salt shaker with soapy water inside and out, including the lids. Let them drain upside down over night before putting them away to make sure they are completely dry. Silver cloth bags are best for preventing tarnish. They come in all different sizes.
The pepper will not damage your sterling silver pepper shaker between uses. There is no reason to remove the pepper.
QUESTION: What silver polish do you recommend?
ANSWER: I like 3M Tarnish Shield which you can buy online.
QUESTION: What is 800 mean stamped into my silver?
ANSWER: 800 is an alloy of silver. It is more common in older European silver work. This means it is 800 parts silver to 200 part alloy.
QUESTION: How do I know if my silver is sterling silver or silverplate?
ANSWER: Usually sterling is marked with a quality mark such as STERLING, 925, or a LION (see above.) The quality marks are usually on the bottom, or on the bottom edge. On a chalice the quality mark may be near the top edge. Quality marks, hallmarks, and maker marks can be very small and difficult to read. Silver from countries other than the U.S. or England may have a quality mark that is difficult to recognize.
Silverplate can sometimes be identified by looking for wear on the prominent areas of the design. You will be able to see the base metal wear the silver plating is wearing off. Base metals are usually, copper, brass, white brass (commonly referred to as nickel silver) or a pot metal.
QUESTION: I just inherited Meriden Silver Plate from my family. Can you tell me more about silver plate?
ANSWER: Silver plating was invented in about . By about , there are a thriving silver plate industry offering lower cost silver plate items for a growing middle class. Meriden Silver Plate was one of many companies offering a wide selection of silver plated items in their catalogs which I love to look at. Popular items at the time included water pitchers, castor sets, and butter dishes.
Here is a link to a catalog for Meriden Silver Plate Catalog
This second link is to a catalog for Meriden Britannia Company 1`886-7
QUESTION: What is quadruple plate?
ANSWER: Quadruple Plate is silver plate. This term was often used in the 19th and early 20th century with the idea of selling quality silver plate. Is it really quality? That is hard to say when you are looking at 100 year old silver, but in comparison, most new silverplate is cheaply made and not quality. I'd recommend buying older pieces at antique stores or e-bay and have them polished and repaired as needed.
QUESTION: Can you replace or repair the ivory insulators on my teapot?
ANSWER: Ivory is now considered illegal in an effort to curb the killing of elephants. For your teapot or coffeepot, if the ivory insulator is just a little loose and not broken, perhaps all that is needed is to replace the rivet. Or, if you don't plan on using the teapot, perhaps it could be reinforced with some industrial epoxy.
If the ivory insulators are broken, they can be replaced with an off-white industrial plastic called Delrin or imitation ivory that is also a type of plastic. Each insulator has to be hand carved for replacement which makes this a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. I'd estimate a minimum of $850 or more.
Black ebony insulators can be hand carved from black Delrin. I have carved new black Delrin insulators and they looked exactly like the old ebony insulators.
QUESTION: Where can I learn more about the issues surrounding ivory and how it affects resale or estates?
ANSWER: Recently the law has been extended to prohibit selling all items containing ivory. "At issue are small amounts of ivory in pianos, antique furniture, violin bows, jewelry, knives, clocks, canes, sculpture, silver teapots, pens, guns and even billiard cues. New rules and enforcement guidelines may render these items not only illegal to export or import, but also unsellable within the United States including piano or decorative inserts on bows or furniture." Read more about this issue in this article titled "Zero Fair Market Value for Antiques?" by Patricia Atwood on the WealthManagement.com website.
Antiques Roadshow also provides information about ivory in antique and vintage items.
The first step in reading silver hallmarks is to locate the marks on your item. The location of the marks varies from item to item, but there are some general rules. For example, the hallmarks on silver flatware are usually located on the back of the piece, on a flat edge.
If the hallmark is unclear then you can breathe on it – like you would to produce condensation on a window, and the mark should become a little clearer.
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Now that you know that your item is silver and the purity of your item, it is time to find out where the item was assayed.
Each assay office (where items are tested for purity and stamped as sterling if they meet the requirements) has its own distinct mark, known as the town mark. The town mark in this example is the leopard’s head mark for London.
You can look up the most common town marks here.
The maker’s mark tells us in whose factory the item was made, as opposed to the specific person that made the item.
Since the standard composition of a maker’s mark has been the initials of the maker. Prior to this, the first two letters of the maker’s last name and sometimes objects or devices were used as maker’s marks.
This website is a great tool for cross-referencing maker’s marks. Once you have ascertained the year of hallmarking, it is much easier to find the maker’s mark, as you have some idea of the period in which the maker was operating.
Again, make sure you are looking closely. Something as small as a slightly slanted letter can mean the difference between one mark and another.
Silver hallmarks are used to identify the origins and purity of an item of silver. Silver hallmarks comprise four main elements to tell you this: the town mark, the date letter, the maker’s mark, and the lion passant. During the period between - a duty was placed on gold and silver, leading to the introduction of the duty mark.
The combination of marks on your silver items mean different things. The lion passant on an item of silver guarantees that the silver is at least 92.5% pure, which is the sterling standard. From to the standard was increased to 95.83% pure, also known as Britannia silver. A new mark, the figure of Britannia, was introduced to account for this. The rest of the marks tell you who made it and when.
The first record of hallmarks used to regulate purity dates back to , when Edward I decreed that the leopard’s head mark would guarantee sterling silver. Silver hallmarks have changed and evolved many times over the centuries, making some hallmarks difficult to place.
Some items of silver plate carry marks that look very similar to hallmarks but which do not indicate that the items are silver, marks such as A1 and EP are used on silver plated items. Some silver items made outside the UK have different marks due to different ways of registering silver.
Henry II is credited with the creation of the Goldsmiths Guild in London, allowing them to use the leopard’s head hallmark in .
Henry III made the earliest attempt at regulating the standard and gold and silver in . He passed an order that commended the mayor and the aldermen (a co-opted member of an English county or borough council, next in status to the Mayor) of the City of London to choose six London-based goldsmiths to superintend the craft. This is when the idea of assaying for purity was introduced.
However, it was not until Edward I that an actual standard for purity was introduced. In Edward I decreed that the leopard’s head mark would guarantee sterling silver (92.5% silver). Gold had to be at least 19.2 carats. This was enforced by ‘Guardians of the Craft’ who would go from shop to shop in London and assay the pieces produced there, applying the leopard’s head in the pieces met the minimum purity standard. Goldsmiths outside the capital were also expected to adhere to this standard.
The maker’s mark was introduced in under Edward III and was required alongside the leopard’s head in order to identify the maker.
In Edward VI introduced the Quality and Marks of Silver Work Act, requiring every assay office to have its own mark.
was an important year for hallmarking. The gold standard was lowered to 18ct. The Goldsmith’s Company was made responsible for wares found to be below standard and for the penalties that had to be dealt. This led to an overhaul in the system used for assaying, and the establishment of the first assay office which was overseen by a Common Assayer. The need to differentiate between old and new plate following the change in standard led to the introduction of the crowned leopard’s head mark. A date letter was also introduced. This not only identified the year in which the item was assayed but also identified the Touch Warden responsible. It is thought that the term ‘hallmark’ comes from the use of the Goldsmith’s Hall as the first assay office.
By the sterling standard was restored but Britannia silver remained as an alternative. A tax on silver plate was also introduced during this time, meaning that many goldsmiths went to great lengths to avoid having their pieces properly hallmarked. A duty mark was introduced in to show that the appropriate duty had been paid for the purity. This mark depicted the king or queen’s head. This was used until .
In there was a crackdown on the composition of maker’s marks. At various points in history different styles had been used. Prior to , the maker’s mark had consisted of initials or devices. This was changed and maker’s now had to use the first two letters of their last name. The reintroduction of the sterling silver mark led to some confusion over the correct composition of the maker’s marks. All goldsmiths had to destroy their old marks and register new ones at the hall, using their initials and a new style of lettering. It was hoped that this would help to detect counterfeit marks. In , counterfeiting hallmarks became a felony, punishable by death.
By , the large-scale manufacturing and the increased use of machines for silver production in Birmingham and Sheffield led to calls for assay offices in these cities. This was opposed by the Goldsmith’s Company, but the proposal went ahead thanks to a special inquiry by the House of Commons.
In , the sovereign’s head mark changed from facing left to facing right.
saw changes to existing hallmarks: the leopard’s head lost its crown, and the lion passant was no longer guardant, instead facing to the left.
In , 22ct gold was finally recognised with marks featuring a crown and the number ‘22’.
In , 9, 12, and 15ct gold was introduced, indicated by marks denoting their actual fineness, e.g. 375. In , gold wedding rings were made liable for hallmarking for the first time.
saw the introduction of a mark on imported gold and silver items, an ‘F’ in an oval escutcheon. Marks used to indicate foreign plate changed frequently, making them particularly difficult to recognise.
In , the tax on silver and gold was withdrawn, and with it the use of the sovereign’s head mark.
12 and 15ct gold standards were cancelled in and replaced by 14ct gold.
During the Second World War the utility mark was introduced, indicating that the fineness of gold wedding rings had been reduced to 9ct and a weight of less than 2dwts. The utility mark also indicated that they had been produced with government authority.
Creating a streamlined system of legislation spanning many hundreds of years was quite a challenge, but in Royal Assent was given to a measure that repealed all existing hallmark statutes and consolidated them into a single Act: The Hallmarking Act of . This act came into effect in . This act also introduced hallmarks for platinum, featuring an orb and a cross.
The weight of your item will help us to understand the quality of your silver. But how?
Silversmiths like Paul Storr produced many items to the same design, but depending on the wealth of their client they would adjust the amount of silver that they would use for the commission.
As such a tea pot may be 500g or it might be 1,300g. Without being able to handle your items in person, providing the weight will give us a very good idea of the gauge of the silver used and thus we will be able to give you a very good idea of the value. As ever, the more information you can provide the better.
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