Silver candlesticks. Marked "Silvered" Help with marks and value please

[buncle]

I bought these today. They are not magnetic and test as silver using the 18k gold acid test. My silver buyer was going to buy them but got cold feet when he saw "silvered" on the back and didn't know what it meant.

Can anyone tell me what the signs signify and what they are worth? Thanks!

 

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[bill from lachine]

I'm wondering if it's just plated considering no purity markings.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[2Minnesota]

Silver candlesticks. Marked "Silvered" Help with marks and value please

"Silvered" means there is silver over the top of some other material. Could be brass, pewter, ceramic etc. I found a windmill mark for Mulholland Bros (I cannot see your windmill clear enough to tell if it belongs to this company).
Sorry, I do not know what they are worth.

 

[billjustbill]

View attachment 1339614 View attachment 1339615

I bought these today. They are not magnetic and test as silver using the 18k gold acid test. My silver buyer was going to buy them but got cold feet when he saw "silvered" on the back and didn't know what it meant.

Can anyone tell me what the signs signify and what they are worth? Thanks!

Get yourself a small set of needle files. They come in all shapes and good sets are sharp. They have many shapes so you can find one that will get you into a place where the notch doesn't show so much. You've got to get below any possible heavy plating and into the base metal. Once you see the different color as you get used to doing the notch filing, you won't need to use your testing acid.

Visually, you will quickly see another color if it has silver over a base metal. Most of the time it will be a cheaper brass base, but some of the older pieces used copper as the base metal.

https://www.amazon.com/Glass-Stone-...&qid=1469338927&sr=8-24&keywords=Needle+files

There are two fellows that set up at a nearby flea market. When a piece is unmarked, they offer to let the buyer used their silver testing acid with a drop somewhere on the piece to show it's "real silver". When I asked if I could file a notch on the edge of a piece, and if he had a file to notch it, one of the became very uncooperative and said, "I just don't have a file.".....

Even if you notch the piece, by placing another matching notch on the opposite side, it will look like part of the the design of the piece....

Bill

 

[buncle]

Thanks for the info. I would hate to damage them just to find out they are silver plated. I think they may be close to 100 years old and may be worth something even if plated, the design is quite ornate. I may just put them up on eBay as they are.

 

[tamrock]

It looks like silvered pewter in the picture. That did that in order to retain a shiny luster on the dull look of pewter, giving it a look of polished silver. My guess is they're from the late 1910s to early 1920s. I feel those could sell for a profit. They have that "Ya never know look" imo. Hopefully you'll be supersized and they'll sell for more then if they where solid silver.

 

[JimDon]

Silvered, silver soldered and plated I think all mean the same.

 

[Red-Coat]

Just doing a bit of tidying up on some older threads, mainly for the benefit of anyone searching the site for information.

Plated they are, but not from Mulholland. Several companies used windmill trademarks and these pieces (with the initials H. S. Co in gothic lettering) are from the Hartford Sterling Company of Philadelphia, PA. The inclusion of the word “Sterling” as part of the company is marketing puffery. They were active between c. 1900-1935 as manufacturers and importers of silverplate goods.