Featured 58 q-tips, 3 hours of polishing, worth every minute

Discussion in 'Silver' started by MrNate, Mar 18, 2019.

  1. MrNate

    MrNate Well-Known Member

    Good evening (morning) everyone,

    I want to start this post by thanking every single person in the Silver forum here on Antiquers. Earlier today, I took a stroll down memory lane and looked back at some of my old posts, and I realize how much education and wisdom about the art and science of silver identification you have all given to me. Thank you to anyone that ever took time out of your day to view my posts and to offer comments and suggestions. It is because of you that I have gone from zero knowledge of silver to the humble novice status I have today (I still have much more to learn).

    So obviously yesterday was an amazing day for those that looked at the teapot (not kettle) I found, and as shocking as it is, I believe today was an even better day. This may seem like a tall story given what I found yesterday, but here's the gods honest truth of what happened today.

    So....where to begin with this story. I'll start by saying I think this is the best single find I've managed so far. Today I decided to take a break from the thrift stores, and try my hand at finding something online. I started browsing the online forums locally, and I stumbled upon a listing for a sterling silver tea set. The listing only had one photo, and it could have easily have been a plated set. I noticed that the listing had been up for five days, another bad indicator since many silver hunters are out looking for the same thing as me.

    I decided to contact the seller directly, and I asked if they could meet today so I could view the items. The listing clearly stated sterling silver tea set, but the price was very nice considering what was in the photo. The seller agreed to meet up, and once I showed up I bought the set as soon as I laid my eyes on it. I've spent the night pinching myself as if this were all a dream. I also spent three hours bringing this beautiful set back from tarnish to shine. I hope you enjoy the photos, I paid $100 total:







    IMG_0768.jpg DSC_0004.JPG DSC_0006.JPG DSC_0007.JPG DSC_0008.JPG DSC_0010.JPG DSC_0011.JPG DSC_0012.JPG DSC_0013.JPG IMG_0772.JPG
     
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  2. cxgirl

    cxgirl Well-Known Member

    Wowser, that is a stunning set Mr Nate, it looks so much nicer polished up:)
    Good on you for checking it out, you have a keen eye! Keep doing whatever you are doing, you are finding some amazing items:)
     
  3. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    sterling price per gram today........ 49 cents..... x 702 = $344
    super buy !!!
    I like the kettle better though........but that's just me !!;)
     
  4. gregsglass

    gregsglass Well-Known Member

    Hi,
    Super buy!!! I always tell people to polish silver before they sell it. If it is tarnished you can not be sure if it is plated or not. The church fire in Brooklyn that I often talk about had six 5 ft candlesticks that the church spray painted silver every Easter to make them look nice. i started to go to church in February and when it came time for the cleaning for Easter they asked me to help. I damn near had a heart attack when they gave me the spray paint to spray the candlesticks. As I was washing them I noticed that they were Gorham silver and MARKED sterling. I asked why they were spray painting them and the people said because for years they were tarnishing and looked better painted. They were older and had no idea that they were sterling. There were so many coats of paint on them you could not even seen the detail. I stripped one and polished it and when reassembled they were eye popping!!! I did the other 5 and they were stunning. I then turned to the six 8 ft candlesticks that were sprayed gold and again you saw nothing. They were also Gorham but they were not gold but BRONZE. Again I stirpped and cleaned one and the detail was breath taking.
    greg
     
  5. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    Nice little repousse coffee set - Hamilton & Davis / Hamilton & Diesinger would be pre-1900 ...

    ~Cheryl
     
  6. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    Love that coffee set!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Loved the teapot, too!)

    But your fingers must be worn to nubbins! Splendid job!
     
  7. MrNate

    MrNate Well-Known Member

    Thank you Cheryl!
     
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  8. pearlsnblume

    pearlsnblume Well-Known Member

    Wowser, First let me say, kudos to you for finding all this stuff.
    Second, I congratulate you on all the polishing. I simply hate polishing so I never ever buy silver, not that I would know what I am doing anyway.
    :p:D
     
  9. johnnycb09

    johnnycb09 Well-Known Member

    I cant be the only one who wants to roll around in your silver hoard! Absolutely stunning,youve got the eye (and luck!) .
     
  10. Houseful

    Houseful Well-Known Member

    I’m wondering why it wasn’t snapped up before you got there as it is lovely. I don’t really know too much about silver but I’m thinking could it be that the Sterling mark is cast into the piece and not stamped? Would silver collectors be put off by that? I’d be interested to know.
     
  11. clutteredcloset49

    clutteredcloset49 Well-Known Member

    The mark appears stamped to me.

    The missing sugar lid, might have played a part. However, I rather doubt it.
    Wonderful find.
    Congrats.
     
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  12. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    Mr Nate, you are not a silver collector; you are a dragon in disguise. The evidence is your serious hoard of nice silver! The sugar dish may never have had a lid to begin with, some didn't, and who cares. Into the hoard it goes!
     
  13. Lucille.b

    Lucille.b Well-Known Member

    Wow, once again. Really enjoying reading these posts!

    Beautiful job and what a gorgeous set.
     
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  14. MrNate

    MrNate Well-Known Member

    Great question, and I think I have a good answer. Regarding the marking, it's definitely stamped in, but the marks weren't available to other buyers. One detail to add to the story; there was only one photo on the listing just showing the set, and not the bottom of the items. Even though the listing clearly states they are sterling silver, many hunters likely passed up on even inquiring about them because there wasn't any proof in the photo. I have NO DOUBT that if the seller had included a photo of the bottom of the set, they would have been bought by someone else quickly (probably in the first 20 minutes it went up).

    I've done WAYYY more online browsing for silver than I should admit, and I've noticed countless listings where someone calls something "sterling silver" when almost all of it is actually silver plated. I don't think most of these people are intentionally trying to deceive others, but rather I think most people don't know much about silver marks (I was formerly one of those). So they just assume everything is called sterling silver.

    Another factor to consider that komokwa alluded to: there's lots of people hunting for silver, both collectors and scrappers. If a scrapper figured out these were actually sterling, they would have bought it on the spot. It's the equivalent of the person selling the items saying "hey if you give me $100 I'll give you $300+ dollars right now." Anyone would take that deal, so I'm just lucky that no one else sniffed it out even though the signs were pretty obvious to me.

    Here's a couple signs I've observed when hunting online:

    Many times, smaller and lighter is an indication it may be real. Manufacturers of sterling silver are trying to max out on their profits, so they want to conserve the amount of silver they use. I'm always looking closely at the mouth of teapots/coffee pots because generally if it has a thick edge of metal at the mouth, it's going to be plated. I'd say thickness of this mouth is about half the thickness of the plated ones. The other area I focus in on is the handles. The connection between the handle is a good indicator of quality of production, and the size matters too. The handles of the two smaller items stood out to me immediately as the correct thickness for sterling rigidity without using too much silver in the production process.

    The other indicator that stood out to me on this set was all the residual polish from the last time someone cleaned it. This is a stretch, but my logic was if someone is slabbing on that much polish to clean the items, you would expect to see worn plate on the items after doing that for many years (imagine this was 100 year old quadruple plate it would start wearing down) and I didn't see any wear of the plate which suggested it could be real.

    One more tiny detail I saw. Notice in the first photo at the top of the handle the little pin is pushed too much to one side? This clued me in that the handle was likely hollow rather than base metal or cement filled. You can see the little hole. I carefully hammered them all back to a good position because the handle was pretty unstable. So I think the little details form the bigger story with some of these items.
     
  15. DragonflyWink

    DragonflyWink Well-Known Member

    From what I see, there's no indication that the sugar ever had a lid...

    ~Cheryl
     
  16. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    All valid points.....& these checked off all the boxes !!!
    I noticed the handle pins......& those would have caught my eye too....& so would the spacers...... Ivory??, bone??.... those don't say plated to me at all.
     
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  17. silverthwait

    silverthwait Well-Known Member

    Ahem! As yet, I have not teased out from anywhere the information I want about sugar bowls -- so if anyone can help, please do.

    Obviously, once sugar no longer needed to be wrestled away from a solid cone shape, the sugar bowl came into existence. Some had lids which helped during damp, or humiditous weather. But not all bowls had them. And, during the Victorian Age of huge families and porridge-for-breakfast, the bowls became quite large. (So much so, that people today often don't know what they were for.) Hence also the sugar spoon, same length (or slightly more) than a teaspoon.

    The problem is that, today, sugar bowls are smaller. They are larger than a coffee cup, but nowhere near the Victorian ones. Unfortunately, the sugar spoon did not change to comlement the new bowl. So now we have a sugar bowl with a tall spoon poking out like a mast on a schooner.

    Nor has the matter of the little cutout for the spoon been solved. If it is there, one has to figure out not only where to put the lid while using, but how to gracefully rectify the sugar lumps from humidity.

    I have solved but one of these difficulties. Instead of the official sugar spoon which came with my pattern, I use a baby feeding spoon -- the short-handled one with the rounded bowl.

    End of the Sugar Bowl Treatise.

    :)
     
  18. pearlsnblume

    pearlsnblume Well-Known Member

    Haven't got any sugar bowls. I don't recall any sitting on the table with my family either. Hmmm.??? I know they had coffee, tea but memory fails me now.
    I like the old time diner style sugar bowls with hinged lids and cut out for a spoon. They seem also to sell well these days too.
     
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  19. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Beautiful coffee set, @MrNate -- And thanks for the information on your learning process and what you look for. :)
     
  20. evelyb30

    evelyb30 Well-Known Member

    My sugar bowl is Phaltzgraff, and didn't come with a lid with a cutout. The honey container however has one and the lid fits the sugar bowl so....

    The spacers could be used on Sheffield plate too, but Sheffield pieces wouldn't be that ornate. The coffee pot in this case is engraved with some initials; if the metal inside the engraving is the right color for silver instead of pot metal or brass or copper, that's another indicator. Of course, if it has British hallmarks or Gorham ones right on the side of the piece...(LOL) Got silver at a plate price that way once myself; there were no marks on the bottom and the sellers (an adult community with way too many rich people) didn't realize what they were. "I'll take this please".
     
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