Silver?!

What do y’all think? Nate style gamble. Tone looks decent for silver and mark looks more like a coin silver mark that a silverplate mark. This is all I have to go on. Silver or no?

 

'EPNS'

 

I can see EPNS too

 

Ah!!! How did I not think of that following the E! Lol thanks

 

I agree the colour looks good, no worn areas, looks well made and handle with the heat bars so I would have given it a really good look too. Definitely can see the E, faint P and S though.

 

It is a handsome one! Glad I’m not the only one that would have been intrigued. It’s so great to have a resource like this to get different eyes on things. My brain was out in left field picking dandelions obviously. The most obvious choice in the book flew right over my head before posting this.

 

It looked awfully good at first, but yep ... the dreaded EPNS.

 

Very cool shape .Too bad! definitely 'EPNS'

 

why , heat bars,,,,on what clearly looks like a water jug..???

it is very nice though....

 

Hot water jug

 

that makes sense...... kinda..

 

Perfect sense - the tea was brewed in a pot at one strength, and then diluted to taste for each guest. You wouldn't want cold water for that.

 

@J Dagger Let me first say I'm humbled whenever my name is mentioned in these discussions...I definitely feel honored to be mentioned.

Let me first commend you on finding a high quality lead based on signs and symptoms of potential real silver. I absolutely agree with you that this item was worthy of closer inspection because it has some great traits.

The positives: When evaluating pieces like this, my eyes are first drawn to the ferrules and the method of attaching the handle. I see some beautiful signs there; a nice thin ferrule and whatever that method is where they hammer in a rod to adjoin the handle. Great indicators of potential silver and quality.

I also love the deep tarnish in the pattern of the piece. Tarnish deep in the crevices is never a bad sign.

The waviness of the metal is a positive sign, though I do begin to note that the tone is note quite what I would hope for...I cannot begin to tell you how many purchases of similar pieces to this I have been fooled by. MANY MANY MANY heavy silverplated pieces have fooled my eye.

I wouldn't have immediately figured out the EPNS at all, and I might have pulled the trigger and gambled...but now that the more informed members of our forum have solved the puzzle, let's find the "bad clues" to keep attuning our eyes to the real stuff:

The negatives:
Upon close inspection, the lip of the piece looks pretty solid, and the tone is fairly uniform across the piece.

Under the base, I would love to see some striation or non-uniform tarnishing. Of note: there is ZERO tarnish in the crevices of the base.

The structure/form of the base also suggests a base metal; sterling/coin designs tend to recognize the fragility of silver and therefore try to reinforce the base; this base form seems comfortable with the notion that the piece won't buckle under the weight... Not sure if any of that makes sense.

Overall I would say your sense for good indicators was very strong here. I absolutely think this is a piece that I would have looked at carefully, closely, and either made a purchase, or asked the forum for help. Well done finding good indicators overall, and if you purchased it, just know that those lessons are worth a ton in the overall picture.