Ahhhh....I love Vaseline glass. It comes in a variety of textures and colors, so it is sometimes hard to distinguish true Vaseline/uranium glass. Let me tell you a few things that I have learned over the years.
Some purists will only collect the glass that is yellow in color when viewed with the naked eye. Many will tell you that yellow glass is the only "true" Vaseline/uranium glass. This is a fallacy. Uranium dioxide salts do, indeed, have a yellow color that will turn glass a lovely yellow/gold when added before molding, but green coloring was also added to glass that contained uranium salts, and this creates a beautiful gel-like green color when viewed with the naked eye. This beautiful glass comes in a smooth finish as well as a satin finish, and sometimes it even has light colored accents added. (As with Fenton's hobnail patterns.) "Custard Glass" and "Bohemian Glass" are also glasses that contain uranium dioxide. In some cases uranium glass can also be blue, pink, gold, and even purple!
Uranium glass has been manufactured since the early 18th century, and some think it goes much further back than that! Whitefriar's Glass in England popularized uranium glass in the mid-1830s, and it was manufactured pretty steadily from then until the late 1940s. It was particularly popular during the Victorian era, and found a resurgence in the 1920s. There are a couple of manufacturers in the United States and Czechoslovakia who still make uranium glass, but by and large production has ceased.
There has been a great deal of controversy concerning the health risks involved in owning and using uranium glass. The glass does register as radioactive on a geiger counter, but tests have been done that prove pretty conclusively that there is no danger in such low levels of radiation. It is recommended, however, that you avoid grinding or sanding glass that contains uranium dioxide since it is dangerous to inhale the dust.
Many people ask how to test glass to make sure that it is true uranium/Vaseline. The easiest way to test is to use a small hand-held black light. These can be purchased on eBay at a very modest price, and they're small enough to tuck into a pocket or purse to be used at auctions and sales. Simply shine the black light on the piece of glass, and if it fluoresces green, then it contains uranium. No matter what color the glass is to the naked eye, it will ALWAYS fluoresce bright green if it is true uranium glass. (The higher the uranium content, the brighter it will fluoresce.) There are also quite a few pieces of glass that were made with magnesium oxide, but these will fluoresce bright orange under the black light. (These are also beautiful pieces of glass, and are also antiques. They're just not true uranium glass.) Many hard-core collectors also carry a small geiger counter, but I have never felt that it was necessary to do so.
Uranium/Vaseline glass is a lot of fun to display. We used velcro to discreetly place long black lights in an antique display cabinet. This works best if the cabinet is glassed just on the front, and has medium- to dark-colored wood on the inside back and sides. Put your uranium glass in, turn on the lights and viola! A beautiful display that will amaze your friends!
Good luck collecting this lovely glass, and be sure to check our store for a large selection!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
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!
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!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Welcome to Ramblin' Rose's Antiques!
We're so excited to be putting up our blog. We would love to hear from you about your antique questions, comments, stories, and information about great places to shop. If you're an antique lover, we want to hear from you! Be sure that you check out our eBay store!
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