# Anyone knowledgeable in antique silver?



## goldenchild (Jun 4, 2012)

I bought some scrap from someone yesterday and came across what I believe to be a tea server. When I saw it I knew it could be worth more as a piece. So I started investigating and found the site 
http://www.925-1000.com/british_marks.html
From everything I read about the markings I believe this piece to be 

British 
E - Sterling .925 for Dublin
Dublin, Ireland (1636 - Present)
1838 - 1890 Queen Victoria I

The weight is 740.1 grams or 23.79 ozt


I just can't identify the maker "SB". Does anyone just happen to know that off hand? Any information on this piece is appreciated.


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## grim (Jun 4, 2012)

hi 
only hadtime for a quick search but it looks like it is made by stephen bergin 1825 dublin


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## goldenchild (Jun 4, 2012)

Based on the photos that I found looking for Stephen Bergin I'm pretty sure its him. It looks like he specialized in intricately crafted tableware. In the last photo its pretty much a dead giveaway for me with the bent flowers used to open the pieces. Kudos to grim for coming up with the name. 8)


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## nickvc (Jun 5, 2012)

Antique Irish silver was very collectable and is probably still worth more than average English silver but the problem is the increase in the metal prices has made most antique silverware and jewellery worth more as scrap than as items, sad but true, but it would be worth checking with a decent auction house to make sure it has no premium.


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## Photobacterium (Jun 6, 2012)

beautiful piece.

some auction houses offer a "consult the experts" day. you bring in your collectibles (firearms, silver, gold, comic books, etc.), you wait in line for the appropriate expert, you get your 10 minutes.

for example Bonham's in San Francisco
http://www.bonhams.com/locations/SF/
http://www.bonhams.com/locations/

also their catalogs from past sales can be informative.


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## qst42know (Jun 6, 2012)

There are antique dealers that may well pay a premium over scrap to have such a piece in their shop. Check around a bit before you decide.


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## goldenchild (Jun 6, 2012)

qst42know said:


> There are antique dealers that may well pay a premium over scrap to have such a piece in their shop. Check around a bit before you decide.



Truth. I am currently negotiating to sell the piece for $900. Should net me a nice $200 and change over spot plus the profit from buying under spot 8)


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## nickvc (Jun 7, 2012)

goldenchild said:


> qst42know said:
> 
> 
> > There are antique dealers that may well pay a premium over scrap to have such a piece in their shop. Check around a bit before you decide.
> ...




Now that's what I call a sweet deal, your happy and presumably your buyer is happy and it saves another piece of silverware from the melting pot.


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## TheBullionBoys (Dec 9, 2012)

That's one stunning piece of silverware!
I'm in the antique trade & it's not often I come across 19th Century Irish made silverware, let alone anything as beautiful as this.
Being in Australia has its drawbacks in that respect, things that are relatively common in Europe & the U.K. are rather scarce here.
Having said that, it's still not something that one would come across very often anyway.
The downside to the fantastic rise in Spot Gold & Silver prices is sadly we're losing many rare & valuable Antiques to the crucible because the items intrinsic value (i.e. PM content) is seen to be higher than their value as an antique.
On the upside, I've managed to save quite a few spectacular items from the crucible by asking my Bullion Dealer what's in his scrap bin!


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## butcher (Dec 9, 2012)

TheBullionBoys, 
Maybe you can help us to keep from melting those antiques, with all of the other silver scrap out there I can hold onto an antique or sell it as one, or if I want the silver and someone wanted the vase I could trade them the vase for junk silver scrap, I do not have any antiques, but if I run into something that looks like one maybe you could help identify it.
It would be a shame to melt a piece of art and history for a little silver, when I can just get some ugly silver scrap and melt it.


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## Anonymous (Dec 9, 2012)

butcher said:


> TheBullionBoys,
> Maybe you can help us to keep from melting those antiques, with all of the other silver scrap out there I can hold onto an antique or sell it as one, or if I want the silver and someone wanted the vase I could trade them the vase for junk silver scrap, I do not have any antiques, but if I run into something that looks like one maybe you could help identify it.
> It would be a shame to melt a piece of art and history for a little silver, when I can just get some ugly silver scrap and melt it.


That makes sense to me. You just made me think about the silver content I've picked up from the Goodwill for dirt cheap that I might can trade for some silver and not try to melt them down.

Nice one butcher. 8) 

Kevin


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## kadriver (Dec 10, 2012)

I bought a big old mug with similar markings - very thick and heavy, about 750 grams.

I tested it when I bought it and paid about $0.50 per gram.

Since it was antique (probably 19th century) I took it to a pawn broker to see if it had any additional value over its silver content.

These folks are clueless when it come to items like these - they handed it back to me and said it was silver plate because it did not have "sterling" stamped on it.

So I took it to my shop and promptly dissolved it to make anodes for my silver cell (my cash flow needs a steady stream and I can't hang on to these pieces).

Plus it got me wondering if I had made a mistake when I bought the piece.

The silver content was a touch low, but I got nearly two grams of PURE GOLD when I processed the filter paper!

I was tempted to go back to the broker and show them the two grams of gold - but thats not the way I like to do business.

kadriver


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