Updated - "Find of a Lifetime"......Silver!!!!! Silver!!!! 2 lbs. Sterling

[alexndad]

My job requires me to be on the road about 90,000 miles a year. This allows me the time to hit every thrift store in my area 3X a week. My son and I decided to redecorate our living room and office in a "funky" 1950's/1960's/1970's offbeat fashion. Since I have bought all of the major furniture except for sofa/loveseat, I began to look for "accent" pieces....i.e. lamps, sculpture, candlesticks, etc.
Well....I roll through these shops in a matter of minutes (alot of practice). While I was looking for silver colored candlesticks, something caught my eye. In the isle which has the silver colored accent pieces, I noticed something.....At first, I did not know what it was, but my mind was saying old tarnished silver. I've been around antiques all of my life....but this was a force which I have never felt before...something drew right to the piece....like I had tunnel vision. When I picked it up, I realized that it was a set of 6 stacked "mint julep" cups.
I turn them over and see "S. Kirk & Sons, Inc. Sterling". Well, needless to say....i almost fainted. S. Kirk & Sons is one of the oldest silversmith shops in the country...out of Baltimore. Maker's mark dates them to 1898 to 1932 +/-.
When I got home I was in such a frenzy, i neglected to photo the cups as I found them.....I think that they weigh between 2 - 2.5 lbs. total. They are gonna help me catch up on some overdue bills.....and I thank the Man above for looking out for me!!!!!

[bootybay]

excellent find...please dont tell me ya paid 5.00 for em, I will cry. Very happy they will help ya out too

[alexndad]

Not $5.00...paid $16.00.....

[Derek752]

So what would they fetch if ya sold them ??

BTW they look VERY nice

HH !

D.

[The Beep Goes On]

Melt would be...

2.5 lbs x 16 oz per lb = 40 oz

40 oz x $16 per oz = $640

HH!
TBGO

[Evolution]

Go back and look for the gold ones. Maybe they'll be selling them for $16 too. Great find. You really can't do much better than that.

[camb1]

That is one great find. I better check out the local flea markets.

[MR----B]

Treasure is where you find it!

[1960texan]

I've been around antiques all of my life....

Thank God! Now you know better than to melt them!

1960Texan

[ivan salis]

well seems you hit it big time -- 2lbs ( by troy or regular weight? -- in jewelry there is a differant pound weight) but lets say 2 regular pounds of sterling silver 32 oz at say $15 per oz -- thats $510 bucks at melt value alone -- which a pawn shop would give say 60 cents on the dollar -- or $306 bucks for -- minus $16 bucks investment --a tidy $290 buck profiet at the very least -- of course as a antique its worth much more provided you can find the right "person" to pony up for the sterling silver mint julip cups ---(mint julips are a big thing for the ky derby day--- horse racers) great find - now are they sterling plated or soild sterling? thats the key .

[desertfox]

He said the makers mark said "Sterling" not sterling plated.......Hope he's right on on this one. I was going to say " " no I'm not gona say it, oh what the heck, You Over Paid! LOL
Nice find!!!!!!! HH Welcome to Tnet by the way.

Desertfox

[nc-joe]

1 Ounce = 0.91146 Troy Ounce, 2lbs = 32oz or 29.17 troy oz. Sterling is .925 silver which comes to 26.98 troy oz of Silver.

26.98t x $16.09 per troy oz as of 1/20/08 = $434.11 melt value

[Moonshadow]

WOW! Very good eye for the silver! I know (retired) folks around here that do nothing BUT hit the thrift stores. I hear stories all the time about how they find treasures! One lady bought a long winter coat that had $1200.00 sewn into the lining! Not my kinda luck, but it does happen! Congrats to you!

HH,
Moon

[alexndad]

Just had the cups appraised.....$150 to $200 a cup!!!!!!!!!! 34.45 Troy Ounces.
WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!
thanks for all of the responses......this is a great bunch of people......
Spring will soon be here and will be hunting the ground once again...

[Wasabi]

Way to hunt those thrift stores, there is probably a whole lot more out there.
Sharpen those eyes and do some reading this winter and you will probably find a whole lot more.
Very nice silver cups.
Rob

[bookfisher]

Melt would be...

2.5 lbs x 16 oz per lb = 40 oz

40 oz x $16 per oz = $640

HH!
TBGO

When you scrap silver it's weight is in troy ounces. 40 regular ounces is around 36 troy ounces. Also at todays spot price of $15.80 per ounce, my refiner here on Long Island (who pays about the best scrap prices around) is paying just about $13.00 per scrap troy ounce. Remember sterling is .925 pure, so you have to deduct almost 10% right of the bat, and then a little for the refiner's profit. So scrap value for the cups is more like $468.00. One last thing though, I wouldn't scrap those Mint Julep cups, since they are very collectible and would probably sell for above scrap on ebay.

[bookfisher]

Just had the cups appraised.....$150 to $200 a cup!!!!!!!!!! 34.45 Troy Ounces.
WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!
thanks for all of the responses......this is a great bunch of people......
Spring will soon be here and will be hunting the ground once again...

I think that's probably a very accurate appraisal, since I just searched ebay completed auctions with the keywords "Kirk Sons Sterling", and out of 345 Kirk & Sons Sterling items, there were no Julep cups. Which tells me they are fairly rare. Nice find! One last thing, since I deal in rare books, art and antiques for a living, if you get a chance, start hitting some local estate sales in your area. That's where you can really come away with some incredible Antique Road Show finds! Also, don't be afraid to knock on the door a day or two early. If it's being run by the family (and not a tag sale service) about 50% of the time (if someone is there) they'll let you in early. Good luck!

[ivan salis]

holy moley what a find -- now to find a rich collector type that "just" has to have them-- at 150 per cup ---cha ching !! thats the hard part in antique dealing finding the "fish" to buy your wares for the "price" you seek --- often you have to drop the price deeply from the "offical" value to "move" it along. ---good luck and great find indeed -- Ivan

[bookfisher]

holy moley what a find -- now to find a rich collector type that "just" has to have them-- at 150 per cup ---cha ching !! thats the hard part in antique dealing finding the "fish" to buy your wares for the "price" you seek --- often you have to drop the price deeply from the "offical" value to "move" it along. ---good luck and great find indeed -- Ivan

With ebay, there's "no dropping the price." Begin the auction with a low starting price and watch the bids go higher all week, with a flurry of activity in the last couple of minutes (if you're selling rare items like those cups).

[Nana40]

WoW! Those are a super find! 8)

Nana