Silver at the local savers?

fmrUSMC_0844 · Dec 10, 2010

Hello everyone. I made a trip to the savers here in town tonight and picked up some salad tossers that say "Godinger Silver Art Co" on them. Was wondering if anyone knows what composition of silver they are? Got them both for 8 dollars and together the weight is 12.45 ounces. Also scored a fork for .30 cents but Im not sure if its silver or not. That one weighs 1.46 ounces. Does anyone have any info on these?

liftloop · Dec 11, 2010

.........................................................Wow that's cool.....................................................................................

pinebarrens1 · Dec 11, 2010

most silver i have found and sold have sayed ...... sterling , .925 , or .800 ..... everything else i have found with out the wording has been junk .......

fmrUSMC_0844 · Dec 11, 2010

I think the salad tossers are plated only. I think the fork is silver but Im not exactly sure. I found a few things on the markings but nothing concrete.

ivan salis · Dec 19, 2010

see the little marks on the end those are called "hall marks" -- often they mean its sterling or 925 silver

Marchas45 · Dec 19, 2010

You can also check with a magnet, if they stick, their plated. :thumbsup:

Then again get yourself some silver tester under ten dollars and test them. Good luck. :thumbsup:

fmrUSMC_0844 · Dec 28, 2010

dingdong said:
made in china ...WTF >>>>JUNK >>>>see the sticker

>>>>WTF>>>> I guess at least they dont stick to a magnet!!

boogeyman · Dec 29, 2010

Try looking at Kovels web site.

Try looking here
http://leonceantiques.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/sterling-silver-makers-marks/

http://www.oldcopper.org/

Don't have my notes here with me, but try Googling vintage silverware etc. There is a company back east that buys and sells individual silverware & silver plate pieces and resells them to people trying to match their pattern when pieces are lost or damaged.

Another alternative that believe it or not works well for me is mark each one that you determine to be junk or low value up 75% - 100% put them out at your yardsale or swap meet them. I'm positive you'll be pleasantly surprised.

If you have the time brouse through the bins of silverware. They almost always throw nice silver & plate in with the SS junk. Not to mention the 50s vintage kitchen tools that will more than triple your money at the antique malls.

If you're still stuck, PM me later & I'll give you some more info when I get back to the PC.

Bluegrassriver · Jan 1, 2011

The Holmes & Edwards is old silverplate. It is micro thin coating of silver by electrolysis. The base is usually copper or copper and tin. The Godinger is modern silverplate with even thinner micro coating and less craftsmanship. It can not be melted for scrap.

The best book on silverplate manufacturing and identification is American Silverplate by Dorothy & Ivan Rainwater. I give it 5 stars!

If it is marked sterling or .925, it is that exact composition in silver, if it is authentic.

boogeyman · Jan 1, 2011

Bluegrassriver said:
The Holmes & Edwards is old silverplate. It is micro thin coating of silver by electrolysis. The base is usually copper or copper and tin. The Godinger is modern silverplate with even thinner micro coating and less craftsmanship. It can not be melted for scrap.

The best book on silverplate manufacturing and identification is American Silverplate by Dorothy & Ivan Rainwater. I give it 5 stars!

If it is marked sterling or .925, it is that exact composition in silver, if it is authentic.

That's the other book I was going to post for him, Thanks! 5 stars is an under rating, deserves 6 or 7 at least.

Hint, stuff like plated or micro coatings don't do well melting for scrap. But you can leach most of the silver plate off using a strong bleach solution in a bucket, just as if you were recovering silver from xray plates photo film etc. (You old old school B&W photographers should be familiar with this

) Then sell the junk pieces for copper, and recover the silver from the solution. Keep the bucket under the bench in the corner ready for the next batch. There's a ton of tutorials on the web for recovering silver using bleach.