Buying Antique Sterling Silver

A lot of people are interested in buying silver right now, and we've been very interested lately in purchasing antique silver items.  We're investing in antique silver instead of bullion or coins because we feel that the antique value helps to steady the value of the metal.  (Which changes on a regular basis.)

However, buying antique silver has it's challenges.  Prices rise and fall daily, and its easy to lose money in the silver market.  I'm no expert, but it seems to me that silver prices are much more difficult to predict than gold.  The potential investor must remember that if the silver isn't hallmarked, (stamped), with a word, number, or emblem that indicates it's purity, then it's probably not good silver.  Also, although it's so wonderful to be able to use your silver, it might be a good idea, at least right now, to secure it in a safe place - like a safe or a safety deposit box, because silver values are rising and falling radically.  Since it can be so confusing, I thought that I would pass along a few of the basic things that I have learned since I got interested in investing in silver.

Sterling Silver:  Sterling silver is the standard that you're looking for.  It is 925/1000 pure silver or 92.5% pure.  Most American silver in the past hundred years or so will be stamped "Sterling" if it is true sterling silver.  Bear in mind - there is no such thing as "sterling silver plate" and don't be misled by people who make that clam.  If it's sterling, it's silver through and through, and there is nothing about it that has been plated.

.925 Silver:  A lot of modern European, Mexican, and South American sterling silver will be stamped with .925.  This is just as reliable an indication of the purity of the silver as the sterling stamp that is used in the United States.

.800 or Coin Silver:  This is silver that is 800/1000 or 80% pure silver.  Coin silver was used a lot in the 19th century - especially for flatware - because it was less pliable and held up better than sterling.  You will occasionally find the .800 mark on larger pieces of hollow ware, too.  Coin silver is also very valuable and very collectible, it just doesn't have quite as much silver content as .925.

Nickel Silver:  THIS SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH COIN SILVER.  Nickel silver has very little silver content, and is typically not very valuable unless the piece itself is valuable because of it's age, maker, etc. 

Silver Soldered:  This is a little confusing to me, and apparently to others, too, because no one seems to be quite sure what it means.  The two theories that make the most sense are that the handles have been attached by using silver solder, or that the piece was dipped in silver solder rather than electroplated.  If anyone knows the true answer to this, I would love to hear from you.  Silver soldered pieces are seen a lot in very old hotel ware, but they usually don't have a whole lot of metal value.

Electroplating:  In the 19th century the process for electroplating was perfected and the Victorians went wild.  Suddenly, they could have gorgeous pitchers, trays, salvers, and bowls for a fraction of the cost of sterling.  In the mid-19th century thousands of these items were made and they were exceptionally well done.  The designs were breath-taking, and the silver plating was much thicker than the plating of today.  If these items were properly cared for over the years they will still retain their silver with absolutely no sign of brassing.  I have several of these pieces in my personal collection, and I enjoy them tremendously.  Because they are so abundant, they are usually fairly reasonable to purchase, too.

These days electroplating is used all of the time, but the quality is not nearly as good as it was in the old silver.  Silver-plated modern items have very little metal value.  A lot of plated items are clearly marked "Silver Plate".  Some don't have any marking at all, and this is usually because they once had a paper label.  Beware the paper label!  However, in older items there are some other markings that you should watch for in order to avoid buying plate instead of sterling.

EPNS:  Electro-Plated Nickel Silver.  This means that the majority of the item is made up of nickel silver with a thin coating of real silver over the top.

EPC:  Electro-Plated Copper.  In this case the base metal is copper.  (Which is also starting to be kind of valuable!)

Items may also be marked quadruple-plate, triple-plate, extra-plate, etc.  Just keep in mind that you should beware if you see the word plate, or the letters EP!

Antique European, Asian, and Russian Silver:  These are a whole different kettle of fish.  I could write for days about hallmarks, and shields, and city symbols, and date letters, but I think that I'll just refer you to the best websites that I have found for these items.  The one that I use the most is: 
http://www.silvercollection.it/hallmarks.html
This one is also helpful:
http://www.925-1000.com/index.html

Both sites are very informative, and they give you all of the information without charge.  Happy hunting!