O.S.K. Line silver sail boat

[Twitch]

Picked this up yesterday and wondering if it has any value beyond the silver content. It’s a small .950 silver sail boat marked O.S.K. Line silver950. I guess it was made for Mitsui OSK lines, the Japanese company. Any idea on age or value is appreciated. It’s 15.44g at .950 silver so $16 or so in silver today. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Red-Coat]

Neat. The deck should open up because it's a salt cellar. The holes in the bow are for sprinkling the salt. It would have had a partner with more bow holes for sprinkling pepper.

If you check on eBay, similar vintage items seem to have asking prices in the region of $80 for a solo one without its partner. Rather more than double that for a matching pair. I think it could be from around the 1920s... just scraping in as antique rather than vintage.

There was an Ordinance in Japan requiring the purity of silver to be marked with decimal numbers from around 1928, but some makers were already using marks such as .950 from around 1912. There were almost no luxury silver pieces made in the Japanese Empire for its populace after 1938 when the Empire put its economy on a war footing, and that didn't resume until well after the war ended.

 

[vpnavy]

Until a member(s) pipes in - I searched Google and got a bunch of hits. Here are just two (of many) hits that RE·SEM·BLE your boat...

EBAY: TWO VTG RARE STERLING SILVER Salt Shaker & Pepper SHAKERS Japan 1920s SAIL BOATS
US $422.50

EBAY: Japanese Sterling Silver 950 Sailboat Salt Or Pepper Shaker
US $79.00​

 

[Twitch]

Picked this up yesterday and wondering if it has any value beyond the silver content. It’s a small .950 silver sail boat marked O.S.K. Line silver950. I guess it was made for Mitsui OSK lines, the Japanese company. Any idea on age or value is appreciated. It’s 15.44g at .950 silver so $16 or so in silver today. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Neat. The deck should open up because it's a salt cellar. The holes in the bow are for sprinkling the salt. It would have had a partner with more bow holes for sprinkling pepper.

If you check on eBay, similar vintage items seem to have asking prices in the region of $80 for a solo one without its partner. Rather more than double that for a matching pair. I think it could be from around the 1920s... just scraping in as antique rather than vintage.

There was an Ordinance in Japan requiring the purity of silver to be marked with decimal numbers from around 1928, but some makers were already using marks such as .950 from around 1912. There were almost no luxury silver pieces made in the Japanese Empire for its populace after 1938 when the Empire put its economy on a war footing, and that didn't resume until well after the war ended.

You’re awesome! The boat does open. I had no idea. Pull the rudder and the deck opens. Really appreciate the information. Thanks.

 

[UnderMiner]

Best I can do is $20 😅👍
You can certainly sell that for more than its melt value.