It's time again for "let's play a game"!

Good evening everyone! It's that time again for let's play a game!

Another game for those that are interested, if you choose to play, please be sure to do your best to follow the rules so we don't spoil it for others. Here is a refresher for those that have played before, and for those that are trying for the first time, here we go:

1. Look at the photos for any valuable indicators/clues that these could be good/bad
2. Use your intuition, or search engine skills, or any other piece of info you need to try to figure out if these are worth your time.
3. Consider the following question: with only the info above and the photos below, do you have the gambling spirit to pay $150 for the items in the photo?

Here's the ways to respond once you have done the steps above so we don't spoil it for other guesses, please respond with one of the following options:

1. I'm interested, but I'm not quite sure why
2. I'm interested, and I think I know why
3. I don't see anything interesting I'm passing

Good luck!!! After everyone that wants to play has a chance to answer, I'll provide some more details. Here's the photos you have to work with:

 

I am interested and I know why.

 

I'm interested, and I think I know why.

But not confident enough to gamble $150 : -)

 

I'm all over that action and I know why.

 

Me too.

 

And me..

 

I'm in

 

I am passing for that price

 

I'm in and think I know why

 

I am interested but not quite sure why ( UK based so not sure what I am missing)

 

Thank you for all the responses to the game! Would @Bakersgma, @evelyb30, @David Kiehl, or @cxgirl offer up your observations that made you decide it might be worth the price?

 

I immediately recognized Gorham's Lyric pattern - the knives in the box lid slots - and the fact that it appears that there are 8 more of each of the basic place setting pieces - forks (both dinner and salad), and teaspoons, and the cake or pie wedge, 1 or 2 serving spoons and ladle. It did not matter to me what the other patterns are. The pattern was active from 1940 into the 90's so there may be a robust replacement market (lots of offers for sale online at very aggressive prices.) And of course, a very quick and attractive scrap opportunity.

I knew this pattern my brother's "baby spoon and fork" set was in this pattern.

 

Wonderful answer! And given how fast you responded to my posting I figured you instantly recognized the pattern. So, for the rest of the group that said you would buy the set, how did you come to this conclusion (I think you could solve this puzzle without immediately recognizing the pattern) @evelyb30, @David Kiehl, or @cxgirl ?

 

I didn't know the pattern/company but it had the look of sterling I use the sterling flatware pattern page and search there - sometimes I find it fast, sometimes it takes me a few companies before I find the pattern

https://www.sterlingflatwarefashions.com/Patterns/1Pattern.html

great score Mr Nate! I love these games, thanks for posting it

 

Another great answer, turns out so far you both have figured out ways to solve the puzzle other than what I was expecting. Anyone else?

 

What were you expecting, MrNate?

 

Barkersgma, I'm always trying to find ways to equip our less experienced silver enthusiasts with the right clues that will make them successful. So I'm going to first address a few concepts that can keep our fellow silver collectors out of making bad financial decisions:

1. Be careful with assumptions like "it looks like sterling" as @cxgirl mentioned. Noticed that right after she said it looks like sterling, she went and confirmed that the pattern was indeed made in sterling. I can't begin to tell you how many listings I've asked to see additional photos for, only to find that my 'keen eye' was fooled by a heavily plated set of flatware.

2. When you build a wealth of knowledge, you are naturally going to recall some sterling patterns; this gives you a huge advantage over everyone else. What you are also likely to recall easily is whether the pattern was ever made in silverplate or stainless. Just figuring out that it's a sterling pattern is rarely enough information to make the gamble; to the best of my knowledge this pattern was never made in silverplate, but some patterns get renamed when made in silverplate, or are made by a different maker altogether. So finding the sterling pattern is one thing, but confirming it wasn't made in silverplate is another issue (trust me, I've made this mistake).

3. So, what is the BEST clue you could ever find, if you were looking at photos? Well, in my opinion the best clue ever would be the word STERLING...and it turns out if you look closely in the photos, that's exactly what you see. So, here's where it is:

If we take the photo below, and zoom in, we can see some faint words stamped on the blade of the knives. The knife in the center is the clearest to observe. So when I looked at this, I can faintly see GORHAM, and a word on the center row that roughly looks like STERLING. Those two clues made my search tremendously simpler; go to the Gorham page and scan through the patterns, and there's lyric. Now that I had the pattern name I could go on google images to find a similar knife (depending on when the set was made, what gets stamped on the blades changes) and I'm expecting it to say GORHAM, STERLING HANDLE, STAINLESS BLADE. Now when I look at the zoomed in image it appears very clear that's what I'm seeing.

Here's the beauty in that clue: I don't have to ask the seller for any more information, and I also don't think I'm really gambling anymore. Based on the size of the set, I would expect the melt value to be at least $800, so the purchase is a no brainer from there.

 

Your eyesight for teensy tiny letters in a photo must be way better than mine, Nate. I had looked at that assuming there would be something useful (even though I already knew the pattern info) but even at 200% zoom could not see the detail you were able to see apparently.

Although that would have been a good clue for some to use, my own experience is that "sterling handle" is more often stamped into the handle itself. So that is another location that should be checked if possible.

 

oh, very good point that should be mentioned Mr Nate I know that, so I checked once I found the pattern - there is a silver-plate 'Lyric' out there (International Silver-plate), but the pattern is different, so I figured it was a 'go' for being Gorham Sterling. I don't have anywhere near the knowledge Bakers has, so I have to search to see if/what is out there Now if the silver-plate pattern had been the same, I'm not sure how I would have proceeded.

lol, I saw that, but when I had a close-up look I couldn't read anything

 

so glad you said that, I thought it was just me that couldn't read it

another great clue when looking at flatware