"Sterling" question

[hollowpointred]

"Sterling" question

does anyone know when they stopped marking Jewelry as "sterling" and went to .925? or even when they started marking jewelry as "sterling". i have found several rings marked this way over the years and was curious as to how old they might be. thanks.

 

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[thrillathahunt]

Re: "Sterling" question

Red,

The National Stamping Act of 1906 required 92.5% silver to be marked "sterling" and 90% silver to be marked "coin" although silver had been marked as such much ealier than that.

I have noticed that items marked sterling are older than items marked .925.

 

[hollowpointred]

Re: "Sterling" question

thanks! that means they cant be older than 1906. when did they switch from "sterling" to .925 though?

 

[diggummup]

Re: "Sterling" question

thanks! that means they cant be older than 1906. when did they switch from "sterling" to .925 though?

Not true- After 1906 it was illegal to stamp something as "sterling" if it wasn't at least .925 pure and "coin" or "coin silver" unless it was at least .900 pure. Both 925 and Sterling marks are still being used today and have been used for well over 100 years. U.S. silver companies such as Gorham and Tiffany often used both marks in the late 1800's. Most European countries used 830 as the standard up until the 1920's except Great Britian which always used .925 as the minimum standard.

 

[thrillathahunt]

Re: "Sterling" question

I don't know that there was an exact date of a stamping change like diggumup said both are used interchangably

thanks! that means they cant be older than 1906. when did they switch from "sterling" to .925 though?

, however, most all of the silver I have found marked .925 have been post 1960s jewelry items. Hope this helps.

 

[hollowpointred]

Re: "Sterling" question

hmmm, looks like i will need to find another way to date them. thanks for the replies.

 

[Ray S S]

Re: "Sterling" question

I have a trophy belt buckle that won in a rodeo back in 1958 or 1959. It has the stamping
on the back that says 'Solid Nickle Silver'

Ray

 

[diggummup]

Re: "Sterling" question

I have a trophy belt buckle that won in a rodeo back in 1958 or 1959. It has the stamping
on the back that says 'Solid Nickle Silver'

Ray

Nickle Silver contains no actual silver, it is comprised of mostly copper, then nickel and zinc. It is also referred to as German Silver sometimes.

 

[Ray S S]

Re: "Sterling" question

Thanks, diggummup, I wasn't sure just what the nickel meant with the silver. I wore it all the time,
up until about 5 years ago. It still looks just about as good as the day I received it. I'm surprised
that it is not actually silver, I always figured it has to be pretty high quality because of the way it
has kept is good appearance all these years.

Thanks again for the info.

Ray