Silver ? at GW

[woodcutter45]

I picked up a silver ? candy dish at GW. I have looked for the mark in the encyclopedia of silver marks and don't find the one on the bottom. Maybe you all can help me. The mark is --"STERLING", below it is a heart with a "C" in it, below that is "WEIGHTED" and below that is "515". A magnet is attracted to the base but not to the stem or the bowl. I'm working on a picture but as a newbie I've not got it figured out yet.

[creeper71]

I picked up a silver ? candy dish at GW. I have looked for the mark in the encyclopedia of silver marks and don't find the one on the bottom. Maybe you all can help me. The mark is --"STERLING", below it is a heart with a "C" in it, below that is "WEIGHTED" and below that is "515". A magnet is attracted to the base but not to the stem or the bowl. I'm working on a picture but as a newbie I've not got it figured out yet.

atleast part of that is sterling probly a thin layer the part that is attracted to is a iron rod that is inserted to keep the filler (weighted) part intacted an sturdy..so in short it is not soild sterling..

[batcap]

I picked up a silver ? candy dish at GW. I have looked for the mark in the encyclopedia of silver marks and don't find the one on the bottom. Maybe you all can help me. The mark is --"STERLING", below it is a heart with a "C" in it, below that is "WEIGHTED" and below that is "515". A magnet is attracted to the base but not to the stem or the bowl. I'm working on a picture but as a newbie I've not got it figured out yet.

atleast part of that is sterling probly a thin layer the part that is attracted to is a iron rod that is inserted to keep the filler (weighted) part intacted an sturdy..so in short it is not soild sterling..

Even weighted sterling can be great for scrapping. You have to destroy it to separate the silver from the trash. The base is usually filled with plaster, and the stem may have copper and epoxy below the sterling skin. The bowl part is always solid sterling, in my experience anyway. The hard part is estimating whether it's more valuable as a candy dish or as scrap.

[famous turtle treasures]

If it is in good shape meaning no scratches, dents, dings, cracks or bends in the structure I wouldn't recommend just scrapping it. Chances are its worth more than scrap.

Is the bowl sterling or glass?

[SEANO]

Welcome Woodcutter, nice find, hope to see a pic soon.

You're not alone with the Sterling GW find..

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...,423928.0.html

[woodcutter45]

Thanks for all of the input. To further describe, the entire piece is silver-bowl, stem and base. It is all still fairly shiny but some tarnish is showing . Also where the bowl joins the stem, it is dented and slightly twisted. The only decoration is a ring of like roping around the top edge of the bowl. So I think it is a good candidate for scrapping. I think I will try to open the base and stem with a utility knife, remove the weighting stuff and see what is left. Does the "C" in a heart ring a bell with anyone for the mark? By the way, it was a $1 purchase.

[cyberdan]

[quote=batcap ]

The hard part is estimating whether it's more valuable as a candy dish or as scrap.

This way works real good for me in guessing the value of a weighted piece.

Roughly 10% of the weight is silver. If you are buying at a yardsale and have a scale and want to bargin pull out the scale and point out to the owner the word "weighted" You don't have to tell them how much it is weighted. The silver skin is a bit thicker than heavy weight aluminum foil.