Found A Big Old Silver Spoon!!!

[Oklahoma Digger]

Can anyone tell me anything about this big spoon found at garage sale? It's about 12" on the back it says Victor S Co A1 T S. Thanks!!!

 

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[diggummup]

A1=silverplate

 

[vpnavy]

The wife said it is a slotted serving spoon for scooping food and draining liquid away.

 

[diggummup]

For the most part (99% of the time) if it doesn't say sterling, .925, 925/1000 then it is probably plated. Here are a few silverplate marks/ words to watch out for:

• EP
• EPNS
• EPC
• AI
• A1
• XII
• 4
• 6
• 8
• 9
• 12
• Heavy Plate
• Triple
• Quadraplate
• Community
• IS

• 1847 Rogers Bros (it not only isn’t sterling, but it wasn’t made in 1847 either)

 

[Generic_Lad]

Also keep a lookout for foreign silver marks, a lot of people are unfamiliar with them and will leave them thinking that they are just plated. There are also a lot of early American hallmarks out there for coin silver.

 

[Sterling]

Thx Dig! I didnt know about those other silverplate marks.........

 

[diggummup]

Also keep a lookout for foreign silver marks, a lot of people are unfamiliar with them and will leave them thinking that they are just plated. There are also a lot of early American hallmarks out there for coin silver.

I'm glad you mentioned foreign marks. I was going to get to that next.
I know that I mentioned that 99% of the time it will be stamped sterling or .925 but that's not always the case. I have found probably 20 or so pieces that are unmarked. Several of them being single earrings, broken chains with no clasps, a few handmade pieces including wire wrap pendants and old Navajo made pieces, one or two pieces where the marks have been worn off and on and on. I found another piece yesterday as well as a small Italian 800 marked filigree butterfly pin.


Okie Digger- The spoon itself is probably 100 years old at least and what I would call a vegetable spoon. Here is the history of the company itself. Victor was just a trademarked name of the company. The Derby Silver Company

 

[jerseyben]

EXCELLENT thread. It is posts like those above that literally brought me back to Tnet!

 

[diggummup]

Generic lad made a good point about "coin silver" too. Common marks are COIN, PURE COIN, PREMIUM, STANDARD and DOLLAR. Some are not marked with anything other than initials or a makers mark of some sort.

A few more plated silver marks that I forgot about above are-

EPBM
EPWM
silver soldered (or the reverse)


Also, anything marked nickle silver or german silver is not silver, and does not contain silver.

 

[Oklahoma Digger]

Generic lad made a good point about "coin silver" too. Common marks are COIN, PURE COIN, PREMIUM, STANDARD and DOLLAR. Some are not marked with anything other than initials or a makers mark of some sort.

A few more plated silver marks that I forgot about above are-

EPBM
EPWM
silver soldered (or the reverse)

Also, anything marked nickle silver or german silver is not silver, and does not contain silver.

Thanks fellas!!!!

 

[Generic_Lad]

For me the best unmarked silver items have been ones with turquoise with them. I've found a handful of unmarked Native American rings and a bracelet that have not been marked "sterling" yet tested for sterling. It is really hard to explain in writing, but there is a certain "look" to these items that after you've handled a few you won't miss them.

These aren't my items, but they're similar to some unmarked sterling I've found:









I suppose the only clue I really have other than just pure intuition is that most of the rings are made with a 2 piece design, with the actual "ring" part being attached to the part that has the stone. On marked pieces there is usually a mark on both of the pieces.



Above is an example of an early American psudo-hallmark for coin silver (not my piece) each maker used a different mark and they're often poorly documented, at least online. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut when it comes to these pieces as its often hard to tell between what is coin silver and what is simply elaborately decorated silver plate.

An often-encountered flatware brand is Gorham, their sterling pieces are usually marked with "STERLING" but also what looks like an English hallmark from Birmingham. These pieces can often be dated to their year of manufacture from this chart: Gorham Silver Marks & Dates - Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks

And of course if you're lucky enough to find Tiffany pieces, you can also date them: Tiffany Silver Marks & Dates ~ Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks

With enough research, it is often possible to sell sterling (and sometimes even silver plate!) for a substantial premium over just melt.