# URBAN MINING (garage sales, flea markets and other)



## Anonymous (Dec 8, 2007)

I got these today at one yard sale for $15.00. The man also apologized for how tarnished an old they were.


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## Harold_V (Dec 9, 2007)

Pretty hard to tell, from the photo, what you got. 

The most important thing to consider is how are they marked?

Harold


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## Anonymous (Dec 9, 2007)

the small tea pot on the far left marked- sheets-r.s.-co.1875(scale design) 1301.
next a container marked-- national silver on copper 3008
then a large teapot marked- sheets-r.s.co 1875(scale design) 1300
then a bowl attached to plate marked- silver plated holloware oneida silversmiths made in usa
one second place award cup maked second place 1967 usaadc
one salad tongs marked eales 1778 silver plate
one bowl marked paul revere reproduction
one butter dish marked oneida silversmiths
one platter marked ikora germany silverplate

any idea on the values?


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## Noxx (Dec 9, 2007)

Silver plated stuff worth mostly nothing... unless you can get it free.


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## Harold_V (Dec 9, 2007)

Without considering collector value, which is beyond my ability, I'd say not much more than the price of scrap copper alloys. I was hoping to hear you say they were sterling. The amount of silver on plated items can be worth recovering, but you'll work pretty hard for what little you get. If that is your objective, by stripping the items, the stripped pieces can then be sold as scrap. Recovering silver from plated items by chemical means is likely a wasted effort. 

When you are investigating such things, look for marks that say Sterling, or 925, or even lower. I've seen silver flatware marked as low as 720, which describes the percentage of silver contained within, should you not know. Sterling is 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper, so is marked 925. The formula holds true of other variations. 

Another notation you may encounter is Coin, or coin silver. That's good---slightly lower than sterling in silver content, with coin silver being 90% silver, 10% copper. 

I'm curious what your plan is. I can't imagine you got burned, although you may not have made any money. Might be smart to investigate collector value----which could prove to be very good with a little luck. 

Harold


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## Anonymous (Dec 9, 2007)

I plan to ebay them seperately as collectibles. However I was considering stripping the worthless ones but know I know I need sterling. Thanks for the info. It seems to me the days of predictable value through collectible books are over and now you have to look at what similar items are selling for on ebay. Even when it comes to precious metals I have bought many items below spot price and other times everything sells considerably above spot price. I see the teapots selling for about $25 to $30 right now so even if I sell one I made a small profit and had a nice day out with the kids. But regardless if I added the time I spent all together profit would not be the motive or I would have went to work instead. I do plan to set up a recovery system for profit in the near future.


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