Featured Tiffany ?? Tray

Tonight at my local auction is the once per month antique special sale

I just stopped in for a quick preview on my lunch break.

this item is a 12” square serving tray signed Tiffany, weighing 823g

I’d like some opinions on the marking

1. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a sterling piece that is also marked “silver soldered”

2. The letter EP mean “extra plate” or “electroplate” and should NEVER be stamped on a sterling piece unless that happens to be the maker’s initials

3. The “sterling” stamp does not match the other markings in font, size or evenness

4. It “feels” like a a silverplated tray, though thick & heavy, it doesn’t “feel” right, proportionally

Is this a fake sterling mark added to a Tiffany plated tray? A fake Tiffany mark altogether?

im sure it will bring in the $500-600 range based on weight alone, but I don’t want to be anywhere involved if it’s fake

 

Not Tiffany, imo. If you look at the spacing of the letters, it says TIFF ANY (slightly exaggerated).
No self-respecting Tiffany piece would have a mark like that.
Let's wait for the others though.

Edit: I found a TIFF ANY mark on this reputable site:

https://www.silvercollection.it/tiffany.html

One of the c. 1870-1891 marks.

So definitely wait for the others.

 

I have me doubts, as the saying goes. Tiffany never sold plated wares, only sterling. It's the kind of thing I'd gamble on if going cheap and then test. If sterling I'd melt it to save grief. If plated... put it under a plant! No good for anything else.

 

https://www.smpub.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000835.html

Either the sterling isn't referring to the silver content, or it was added later for a poor attempt at deception.

 

let someone else gamble on it........

 

Color me shocked but I honestly never knew Tiffany did silver plate ! But so they did.

 

Of course Tiffany produced and/or sold silverplate, I've some old ads, etc., but no time to dig around. It is silverplate, and nothing wrong with the marks other than the spurious 'STERLING' - here's a mark shown in Carpenter's 'Tiffany Silver' (1978):




~Cheryl

 

Should mention that even Tiffany silverplate can bring decent prices, more than I'd pay for a plant saucer...

~Cheryl

 

This 12" #125 tray sold in May for a $120.:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285297574071?hash=item426d0f80b7:g:QSYAAOSwqudkZ7SU&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA8K3r1Lo9+Prl7upFddPEkV378rVaOkw+xZM/Uj/eYGZ+o5Fu5SaRQJox+QTK0uJDNEWpB4q836+zznOJxg7JJdCt7TDClyoK2KlBoIogBgT4UKjRIB+HaQUhegCweozc1lwz7AHVxih1Sc3GFTgwhp61fYOY/hGRSrrVvOe53PW5r1w5k79BGm0Quv5Rx6SB7VihixmyhLgXyXvWBPWey+gLOLhXLPjHS9brZp1ihsPBAlZml5UNxK6ERDTWXAtjAXrUAfGQEYxC9GsiVDG8X3/BQduu1az8uerGSN3m40Dzn/DPFIOzcXrBuglHG4m1Iw==|tkp:Bk9SR6jXuaK6Yg&nma=true&si=DNn9tqww6dpzMZfvw5pbBdqXy28%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557




~Cheryl

 

Thanks for everyone’s input

I’m not touching it because it’s clearly not a legit sterling mark, and since it’s been tampered with, I doubt it retains much value as a Tiffany plated piece

 

Sold for $90

others had spotted the false mark, I had a few conversations with other buyers after the fact

 

As Komokwa mentioned Tiffany definitely sold soldered and/or plated wares. As dragonflywink mentioned they definitely do sell for respectable prices. That’s definitely a sketchy mark combo though! What did the auctioneer describe it as verbally when it hit the block?

 

oooopsy...that was Cheryl !

 

Oops yeh. The red bar under username tripped me up. What is that for? Moderator?

 

It was sold as a “Tiffany Tray”. The word “sterling” was not mentioned and they will usually make sterling pieces known

 

Come to think of it I’ve never seen a piece that was marked both silver soldered and EP. Usually marked silver soldered or plated (or some variation of plated) not both.

 

that's a ... mood chooser bar....
some folks select one...some don't..

 

I read a posting on the 925 site which stated that the Tiffany EP Silver Soldered pieces were typically restaurant/hotel wares.

 

Would say that a 'Silver Soldered' mark is most often found on restaurant/hotelware, by various makers well into the 20th century, appearing in advertising as well, along with 'Hard Soldered', an indication of the extra strength required for commercial use. Tiffany claimed they were the first to use only hard solder on their silverplate, regardless of the intended market, and Gorham, who started producing very high quality electroplate in 1865 (Tiffany one of their early retailers), also started stamping 'Silver Soldered' on their silverplate in the 1870s.

Here is a page on electroplate from Carpenter's 'Tiffany Silver' (1978):




~Cheryl