Is this piece sterling?

My sister and I inherited this bowl. Here is a photo of the bottom. Thanks, Ed

 

May be "coin" silver. Look at the Bailey & Co, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia mark on the page in this link.

http://www.sterlingflatwarefashions.com/Silversmiths/SSB1.html

 

I've seen this mark described as a George Sharp made for Bailey & Co. but after leaving "Bailey & Co." and before "Bailey, Banks & Biddle".
Can we see the whole bowl please?

 

Just read through the article about Bailey, Banks and Biddle's history (of which Bailey and Company was a predecessor) in Rainwater's Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers which discusses a 1871 booklet (History of Silver, Ancient and Modern) which was published by Bailey and Company. In that booklet were a couple interesting quotes - "They claim the distinction, without cavil, of having first introduced silver of the full British standard of 925-1000 the American standard being but 900." There is no mention about when they claim to have raised their standard.

Rainwater also says that at the end of the booklet, Bailey and Company also mention "PLATEDWARE - Of our own manufacture.." However, I have not seen an example of a mark used by them specifically for plated items and Rainwater does not show any of the marks used by the firms in the BBB pedigree, so I can't say whether there is anything to distinguish from the mark on your bowl.

 

I just found this, and the mark matches my piece exactly, so looks like sterling.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.silvercollection.it/4BAILEY&COPHILABIS.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.silvercollection.it/AMERICANSILVERMARKSB.html&docid=1BGzF3xQ0M3KmM&tbnid=CRfirBRJ23ElgM:&vet=10ahUKEwihzL7y6r7YAhURkeAKHa9eCY4QMwg1KAAwAA..i&w=370&h=238&bih=649&biw=1024&q=bailey and co sterling marks&ved=0ahUKEwihzL7y6r7YAhURkeAKHa9eCY4QMwg1KAAwAA&iact=mrc&uact=8

Here's a pic of the bowl.

 

Yes! Rainwater does show this as Sharp's mark for Bailey & Company in about 1850.

 

Please note that the source of that picture does not distinguish "coin" from "sterling" in the American section. Just because the section header says Sterling, just means "solid silver versus plated."

 

So the "lion" marks, don't indicate sterling? I'm ok with coin silver, just trying to figure it out. What do the lower 3 marks, the cat, S, and the shield, stand for? Are they George Sharps mark's? Thanks.

 

Not in the US, they don't.

 

Yeah, I kinda knew that . So, only .925 in the US means sterling? Was George Sharp British?

So the only way to tell is to test it somehow?

 

In the US, the word Sterling or .925. The earlier 900 "standard" was out of use by roughly 1880 (a gradual change based on access to high-grade silver ore that became more widespread following the discovery of such in the West.) The only place where I know for certain the smiths conformed to the 925 standard earlier was Baltimore. The US has never had a nation-wide system for the regulation of assaying such as that in the British Isles.

Sharp was not British. Recorded as working in Philadelphia 1848-1850 and apparently until 1870-ish in Kentucky.

Rainwater says that the American shield part of the mark was a "quality mark" but does not say whether it meant he was using .925 silver alloy vs. .900.

 

Why do you care? The silver percentage doesn't really matter unless you are planning to scrap it. And I certainly hope that isn't your plan. If it is, let me know first