German Trinket Box

Oh, sorry -- I didn't realize that the test result was already posted.

 

Well, the item was listed under 'Antiques > Silver > Non U.S. Silver > Germany', and listed as 'German Hanau silver', without mention of there being a possibility it is silverplate. Hanau silver is usually at least .800 silver, occasionally as low as .750, and can sometimes be as high as .930, it also typically has pseudo-marks intended to insinuate greater age (really, the whole point of the marks) - when I find a piece with a simple 'GERMANY' mark and no fineness indicated, it's silverplate, and the plating is often worn to base metal. The buyer probably should have looked for some other indicators that it actually is Hanau silver, and putting a drop of some kind of testing acid should not have been done, but personally, feel the category and description could be misleading, and guessing that with the piece in hand, the buyer had doubts...

~Cheryl

 

Thanks. What does the color of the drop tell us?
Plus, you have to scratch the surface, right?