should this silver be melted down

[treasurepirate1]

i have a large serving spoon that i think is silver but i am not 100% sure because of the strange patina on it but it more than likely is silver because of the spoon bowl tip is worn down and you can see a solid silver color, oh ya also it does not stick to a magnet, so is this a rare spoon worth keeping a spoon or is it worth melting.

 

[Red James Cash]

An easy way to get a guesstimate on old sterling or coin silver utensils without knowing the maker marks is old silver was pretty thin because of the value back then. I have a silver spoon from 1798, you could almost bend it just by looking at it lol. Its a little bit smaller than the spoons made today but weighs a gram or so over a half ounce. I weighed sterling spoons before from the 1950s 60s and they weighed out at over an ounce

 

[Sandman]

Why melt it down as it will weigh within a couple grains anyway and it could be worth more to someone whole.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Research the Maker's marks - Always worth more as a spoon.. Good Luck with it!

 

[batcap]

My guess by the grey coloration that it is Pewter. You can rub off black silver tarnish with your thumb, with a little effort. I don't see that kind of tarnish here. Also, if it was English Sterling, one of the hallmarks would be a lion in profile. You would "read" the hallmarks as: Makers Mark, City Mark, Year of Manufacture Letter Code, and the lion indicating that it is sterling(not necessairily in that order). I believe that the lion also indicated that the appropriate taxes had been paid. The lion isn't universal though. When i'm researching a mark, I start with this site:

http://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks.html

Correction: To properly read British Hallmarks, Ignore my rambling and read here:

http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html