Luke Judge

One thing that confuses novice collectors more than anything else is “silverware,” a term that one would think implied the item was indeed constructed of silver, but since the 1840′s, that hasn’t been the case. until silver electroplating was perfected and patented by Henry and George Richard Elkington in 1840, most silverware was exactly that, 80- to 92.5-percent pure silver. the Elkinton’s patented process allowed the appearance of “silverware” by using only a very thin layer of pure silver, usually from 1/1,000 to 2/1,000 of an inch (0.03 to 0.05 millimeter) thick on a base metal such as copper, brass or Britannia metal (a type of hard pewter).

To the average person, Coin or Sterling silver don’t look much different than silverplate pieces, but where the difference lies is in the markings. by international convention, most countries have laws regarding the marking of precious metals such as silver and gold, generally referred to as “Hallmarks”—stamped marks from which the purity, the maker, city and date can be determined. Hall Marks had their origins in England, where all silver has been marked since the 14th century, and are a great aid in determining the history of a piece today. American silver is often marked with the word “Sterling” (925/1000ths. pure silver), “Coin” (800/1000ths. pure silver) or with numerical markings that indicate the same thing “925″ or “800.”

Where the trouble started was when late 19th century makers of American silverplate began to realize they could improve their sales if they marked their products in a similar way to English hallmarks, such marks giving the impression of quality “just like Sterling.” Today, Appraisers and Dealers refer to these as “Pseudo Hallmarks,” which take many forms, but they generally appear as two or five punched marks in Old English script.

The wonderful thing about them though is they actually spell out their true metal content, as can be decoded as shown below. So if your “Silverware” has any of the markings listed below you can rest assured it’s not “Sterling”

EP - ElectroplateEPBM - Electroplated Britannia MetalEPNS - Electroplate on Nickel Silver (nickel silver is a nickel/brass alloy)EPC - Electroplated CopperEPWM - Electroplated White MetalEPNS-WMM - Electroplated Nickel Silver with White Metal Mounts

Photographs courtesy of silvercollection.it

Mike Wilcox, of Wilcox & Hall Appraisers, is a Worthologist who specializes in Art Nouveau and the Arts and Craft movement.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 1:19 pm and is filed under Blog Entry, Metals, Plated (Non-precious). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. View all articles by Mike Wilcox.

gold Metalware britannia metal, gold, novice collectors, purity

Here’s a shocker for ya: there aren’t a whole lot of Jews in Austin.

I know, big surprise.

A few days after we moved into our new house, our neighbor came over to introduce herself. We chatted for a while, and she – as a transplant from San Francisco – shared some wisdom on what to expect in Austin. Stuff like where to eat, where to sign Cheeky up for sports, and where to shop for groceries. She also had a warning – people will ask what church you go to – it’s annoying and intrusive but often asked. So what if I respond by saying “I’m Jewish” – will that shut them up? She said sure, you could say that. And when they respond with a quizzical “What’s that?” you could say, “You know, like Michael Dell (Austin’s most famous Member of the Tribe, apparently) (it all comes back to Dell around here).

I’m not the most observant Jew (just ask my brother)(yes, you, Ian). In fact, you might say I’m a skeptical agnostatheist. But that got my hackles up – I just might have to try a little harder while we’re swimming in a sea of Christians.

But I hadn’t given much thought to Hanukkah. It hasn’t really been prominent on my radar since I was 11 and tried to hang Christmas ornaments from a ficus in our house. (It’s a Hanukkah bush, Dad… Take It. Down.) I always saw Hanukkah as a kid’s holiday, a way for us Jewish kids to feel less depressed around Christmas time, made into a bigger deal than Jewish tradition would have it by the pressure of the Hallmark machine. We hadn’t even bothered to tell Cheeky about Hanukkah, figuring we’d keep things simple (and pagan, which is soooooo much more fun) until she was older. Older apparently meant 3, when she came home from her (Quaker) preschool and asked me, “what’s Hanukkah?” Talk about a Jewish guilt trip.

So we “celebrated” last year by giving her a present, a bag of gelt, and reading A Blue’s Clues Chanukah (not to be out-shined by Cheeky’s favorite, Hanukkah Bugs.)

(PS, how seriously can you take a holiday that no one even knows how to spell??)

This year I didn’t even know when Hanukkah would begin until I was totally and completely put on the spot by Cheeky’s preschool teacher. I went to pick the kid up last week, and over the heads of 20 four year-olds waiting expectantly for storytime, she bellowed, “Chloe tells me at her house, she gets to celebrate TWO holidays.”

“And we were thinking maybe you could come in and talk to the kids about Hanukkah.”

Um, er, uh, okay, I guess?

“Well, I’ll do my best but I have to admit some self-doubt in my ability to properly educate such young impressionable minds on the meaning of the holiday.”

From behind me, I hear “I can help, I’m Jewish too.”

This came from an assistant teacher in the classroom, Mr. Gabriel. What? Another Jew in Austin? We’ve just doubled the population.

The plan was set in motion. The Hanukkah books were plucked from Cheeky’s bookshelves. But wait a minute, what about props?

I didn’t trust Austin to stock much, if any, Hanukkah fare so I used part of our NYC jaunt to stock up on essentials – 20 bags of gelt, 20 dreidels, general feelings of Jewishness….

I didn’t have a menorah of my own so I went on Menorah Quest. My journeys took me to Target (nope, only Hanukkah cups and plates and a sad banner proclaiming Happy Hanukkah!), Whole Foods (they did have a small section and didn’t look at me like I had three heads when I asked where to find the Hanukkah stuff. But then again, they don’t call it Whole Paycheck for nuthin’.), and ultimately Book People, a local “we’re so cool and local” book chain that does have a great vibe but can’t really justify charging more than every Border’s, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and the like.

There I dumped $53 on a semi-tarnished silver plate or silver-look menorah. At the counter, I asked about the return policy since Menorah Quest had not fully concluded. The checkout lady said “oh, that’s so pretty! But we only take back Christmas items for a week following purchase.”

Really? Christmas items?

Anyway, I swallowed my snicker, got out of there and felt well-prepared. And then…the big day.

I settled into the circle of kids, all silent and dumbfounded by the mere word “Hanukkah.” I read the Blue’s Clues book to them. They stared, they blinked, they asked insightful, probing questions like “which one is Orange Kitten?” Then I poured out a bag of dreidels and they swarmed me. All was not lost.

I walked away feeling pretty satisfied. They were, after all, very cute. And when I left they were busy learning the Hebrew letters and the rules of the game (lame as some of us more jaded folks may find it).

Yeah, I feel pretty good. Now 19 more people in Austin know that there is, in fact, another Holiday besides Christmas (there might be hope for Kwanzaa, too, but only if the kids venture to East Austin, apparently). Of course now we’re obligated Chez Cheeky to observe Hanukkah AND Christmas, resulting no doubt in the creation of the Most Spoiled Child Ever.

But it’s okay, it’s all in the name of education.

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