🔎 UNIDENTIFIED 1/10 Sterling?...

[Mike from MI]

Found an antique sterling ring in a lake. It is marked 1/10 Sterling. I have never seen that mark. It is not plated, like the old 1/10 gold rings were. Any ideas?

 

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[Cariboo5]

Mike by chance do have any pictures which would help us help you? thanks ....

 

[Red-Coat]

I’ve never actually seen a silver ring marked in the same way as 1/10 gold rings, which designates them to be plated with 10% gold of a particular fineness (and therefore usually accompanied by a Karat mark and sometimes also ‘GF’ for ‘Gold Filled’). However, ‘Silver Filled’ (sometimes called ‘Silver Overlay’) also exists and could be marked in a similar way.

In both cases the plating would be rolled, not electroplated, with the fineness of the plating specified (for which a ‘Sterling’ mark would suffice on Silver Filled, versus a Karat mark on Gold Filled).

In the US such marks would usually be after the National Stamping Act of 1906 and, if there is no maker mark, before the 1961 legislation that made such marks mandatory.

You say it’s “not plated”, but the thicker plate from a rolling process using Sterling silver would be more difficult to determine, especially if on a white metal base.

That’s my best guess.

 

[Mike from MI]

I’ve never actually seen a silver ring marked in the same way as 1/10 gold rings, which designates them to be plated with 10% gold of a particular fineness (and therefore usually accompanied by a Karat mark and sometimes also ‘GF’ for ‘Gold Filled’). However, ‘Silver Filled’ (sometimes called ‘Silver Overlay’) also exists and could be marked in a similar way.

In both cases the plating would be rolled, not electroplated, with the fineness of the plating specified (for which a ‘Sterling’ mark would suffice on Silver Filled, versus a Karat mark on Gold Filled).

In the US such marks would usually be after the National Stamping Act of 1906 and, if there is no maker mark, before the 1961 legislation that made such marks mandatory.

You say it’s “not plated”, but the thicker plate from a rolling process using Sterling silver would be more difficult to determine, especially if on a white metal base.

That’s my best guess.

I say not plated because... It was found in a lake and no doubt it has been there a long time since it had a thick black crust on it. I used a dremmel to get the bulk off then electrolysis. Typically this would take all the plating off. Then I shined it up after that. No plating appears there. I agree with the above as I have found 100's of rings over the years and none marked this way.