Silverware Identification

We have a collection of silverware but every time we take it to the antique show people just want to buy it to melt it down. Which is an idea we have in the back of our minds. Our understanding is that some of it is worth more than the silver it contains but we don't know how to tell them apart. How would I go about identifying different pieces?

 

Show us pictures - both the designs by piece and the markings so we can see who made them.

FYI - I am not a big fan of melting, but they are yours so do what makes sense to you.

 

to the antique show people just want to buy it to melt it down.

so they're just offering melt weight prices...cuz the stuff is average....

or it's better and they won't say so.......

 

These are the only photo's I could find right now. I think there is more of it though, and I can get photo's. Just got thinking about our antiques again and wanted to do a little more research. Everything you guy's give me is archived on this page for my parent's to look at, maybe when my dad retires down the road.

 

the shakers..the cups...& i'd guess a couple of spoons..should have more than melt value.........but from what i see...not that much...

the silver set is not complete..or the monogrammed spoon set.....those are usually just melt !

We have spoon collectors here....& folks who know more about silver on their pinky than I could ever know .......

we'll see what others say........and in the meantime.....

@i need help ....could you please move this thread on to the SILVER Forum??

 

This one looks interesting to me, in spite of the unfortunate decapitation:

 

Looks to be Suerre's statue of Napoleon atop a French souvenir spoon, appears to bear proper silver marks in the bowl...

~Cheryl

 

Would really need more images of your pieces, marks, etc. - looks like you have several pieces of American coin in there, and the Wallace 'Grand Colonial' pattern is generally a good seller, whether sold singly or in sets, but the prominent monogram will almost certainly affect value (though I bought my silver flatware service conveniently monogrammed with my initial)...

~Cheryl

 

It really annoys me when so-called 'dealers' only think about their wallets and 'scrap' values. Some will split wonderful sets or pairs of items just to make an extra buck. It is a practice for all manner of antiques, from complete dinner services split into individual items, to fabulous dressing table sets being sold-off as single items. Grrrrrrrrr! I cannot imagine the amount of exquisite & important jewellery for example, that as been broken-up & melted down without any care or thought about its historical value. Antiques are far more than just a monetary commodity!

 

Yes, one of those two options... and maybe another option is that they don't have a clue and would melt down anything.

 

spoon extreme right is possibly German Hildesheimer Rose.