souvenir spoon hallmarked -pearl silver- is this a fancy term for silverplate ?

[Argentium]

A good friend of mine was just given a souvenir spoon from yellowstone park - the handle is
ornamented with pine cones at the top - the reverse side of the stem is hallmarked with the
words- pearl silver- ? any ideas as to what that means ? thanks ! Argentium.

 

[Fast_Dave]

According to the silverware terms guide on our good friend Ebay, the phrase "pearl silver" was stamped on flatware that was actually nickel silver, that is made of copper, zinc and nickel with no silver content. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.