Welcome to the channel! I have an interest in silverplate that I want to share with everyone.
The channel will focus on unboxing and discussing the history and value of the pieces and what I think about the future value of the stuff. I'll also discuss scrapping silverplate and other topics including my Ebay Store- goodmarksgoods where you can find many of the pieces I discuss.
Thank you! As frustrating as it was that it happened in the first place, trying to file a claim to the post office was a completely different experience in frustration and futility! I'll finish the series talking about that, and I'll strip the tray of it's silver, at least I took the feet off so if someone damages theirs, they can find a replacement.
@@gmgssilverplate I still think there’s money to be made. You could sell the platter broken. People like me would buy it to use as a backdrop in a bookcase or on a mantle. A strategically placed plant or books would hide the missing handle.
Ahhh darn I didn't think that someone would still want it 😔 Instead all I was thinking is how I could recoup most value, and thought recovering the feet and the other handle, filing a damage claim, then scrapping it of its silver would give me the best chance to recoup what I spent on it. I'll remember what you said if this ever happens again.
Iirc I never even had time to list any of those and they are still sitting somewhere. Which ones were you interested in purchasing? I'll put them in one of my stores.
You have to understand the South Park joke. Step 1- Collect underpants. Step two ???? Step three - Profit! I'm trying to relate that to selling silver plate. Or in my case, hording too much inventory, because I have no idea how to sell it all. Most silver plate is about as desirable as used underpants. So when I find something I know I can profit off of, the underpants (the undesirables that came with the profitable pieces) remain in a giant pile.
Hi GMG, nice find and an enjoyable watch. Indeed this "Baguette" pattern came into being around the mid-19th century. I have a Christofle catalog from 1862 which shows it already. In fact, pretty much every French silversmith had this pattern (same as the "Filet" - or Chinon - pattern). The reasons I think are not that hard to deduce. It is undecorated, so a mould is easier to make. It requires less polishing, given that it doesnt have any crevices, so it polishes easier. This would have made it populair for large orders by restaurants and cafe's, as you mentioned. It definately pre-dates the modern art movements and in a way is the antithesis to those: mass-produced and undecorated. All catalog's by all makers classify this pattern as "Uni" or "smooth/undecorated/general", the cheapest patterns as the cost of production would also have been less than exquisite Rococo patterns. This also explains how widespread it is. The pattern was also popular in Belgium and the Netherlands, and I often find it there. In fact it's pretty hard to dodge over here. I've found a ton of them with inscriptions of restaurants and hotels (confirming also your point about the cafe's). One point of interest is the disparity in quality. Baguette pieces are seriously both among the most elegant pieces there are, if done right, and among the most shoddy pieces of work out there. Sadly though, they are also among the most heavily used pieces and I often encounter them overpolished and with silver loss. Great find. I could share some catalog data if you'd like.
I love the way you pointed out what now is obvious now that you mention it, that a mass-producible and simple (but I still believe kind of elegant) pattern would be the antithesis of the art movements. I wonder how a critic contemporary to late 19th century Paris would have received these pieces... From what we have discussed, not well, I would imagine.
@@gmgssilverplatethat's an interesting question. From a designer point of view, he would definately find it old-fashioned and in need of some "modernity". However, I hope it would have been obvious even to a critic that the French art nouveau style was way more expensive to create and the style wouldn't have been loved by all. The Nouveau movement remained a bourgeosie thing at the end of the day. It would not have been feasible to equip the whole of Paris with nouveau cutlery, it was simply too expensive. I hope the ceitics would have understood the neccessity for a common pattern and would have been able to appreciate Baguette's elegant simplicity in that light
Yep, well said, there's a reason why it fits so well in today's homes, and survives and is still popular to this day, it definitely looks like a design that would have been developed and loved in the 1960s and did well in suburban homes. The wealthier French certainly could be snobbish, but back then they didn't have social media as an outlet. They probably kept their opinions like that to themselves, or more likely had more important things to think about.
Thank you for watching. Flair is maybe .50-$1 in current prices for basic pieces like tea spoon and salad forks, it is a common pattern and not well demanded. 1847 Rogers Bros is a plated line, it is always plated. To know if it is real you need to see "sterling" marking. This is just a very fast basic run down.
The communion set was a nice find! So unusual to see them survive altogether. The "ewer" it's actually referred to as a flagon. The plate is referred to as a paten. 😁
Ah! Thank you! I know, it was pretty awesome that it came to me complete. And thanks, I've heard the word flagon before, didn't come to mind that day, but never heard of a paten.
@@gmgssilverplate hi again just fed the garden birds and i have 4 pet girl mice with me 27/7 as im house bound they are 1 yr old now so fully little clowns and 15 yr old border collie Jenny my shadow xx granny eileen
Hi Mark, that box would definately have been suitable, as long as you have about a half inch of bubble wrap between the handle andbthe carton. That handle was hard-soldered on and isn't salvagable by economic means. Getting it soldered requires a professional and would need a thick replating at the seams which is not cheap and would remain visible. It could have been metal-wear (too much bending by heavy items on the center ) from past usage leading to a rough break by force during transport. Definately rough handling by the parcel handlers. Don't overestimate the conveyor systems and the apathetic goons that operate them. It's often worth it to spend those extra couple dollars for insurance for items >$150. True shame about the tray, looks very intricate.:( Stay grinding :)
That's the same conclusion I came to, sadly. I am having a rough time trying to remove the other handle, it is definitely soldered on there pretty good.
There absolutely is a market for vintage and antique silver cloth. Do not wash it, it will ruin it. Those being very ornate I’m sure someone would buy them. They usually don’t sell quick or often but they will sell. Very dependent on brand and condition. The very common cloth in very average or worse condition won’t sell for more than peanuts. When you get into good luxury brands and the pieces are in good condition with bold color they can sell for $15-$30 per piece sometimes. For some serious silver collectors they do want the appropriate matching silver cloth for their pieces. The most I got for one so far is $42. It was a large bag for a good size piece of holloware. I’ve found that estate sale runners and auction houses will just give it to you for free if you see some and ask. They always take the silver out to present it for sale and cast the stuff aside. I’ve gotten good quantities of it free on a few occasions just by asking. Even if not free they’ll give it to you for next to nothing. It’s good to have for you own collection but can also be flipped.
Bro! I found some Cartier cloths and threw them in my store, I didn't realize about washing them until recently, so I did wash some that I pulled out of flatware boxes. I won't do that again. Hopefully my Cartier cloths will give me a nice profit. I am selling 8 of them for 25 a piece.
Yeah, they are rare and getting rarer, but they're still out there, and anyone can still afford to pick up a pair! And I know! I wish I could save everything, but I can't! It takes a lot to pay storage and packaging supplies to run my store, not to mention gas and food to make it to the next week... And I'm trying to sell a sterling weighted bud vase, art nouveau 800 salt cellars, a beautiful pepper mill, and now some Tiffany pieces for higher than sterling melt so whoever will buy them can't melt it for a profit themselves, and they've been sitting in my store for years and months! Heck, what will end up happening is the spot price will catch up to my asking price and sometime will pick them up n off to the smelter. On the other hand though, the market has never been better for someone with a shrewd eye to pick up some incredible silver on the cheap. I found all this for 15 dollars, and I share my finds for everyone to see so they can do the same!
Hi Mark!! You're entree dish may very well be a later OSP, made by T&J Creswick. Later pieces didn't necessarily have rolled over edges. By the latter years of production they were able to make a nearly invisible seam. Look with a loupe and see if you can detect a faint solder line. Also take the handle off and check underneath to see if it's marked with the same marks. I have several Creswick ente dishes and they're beautifully made!! Sorry I can't share pics with you here.😢
Crazy! Thanks for the info Rich! I need to order another loupe, haven't seen mine in months. And man, is old Sheffield plate complicated! And underneath the handle it is unmarked. I assume the older ones are more common and less valuable huh.
The gray color is silver chloride. This is not soluble and will settle to the bottom of your container. Carefully separate silver chloride. Allow it to dry. Once dry, put the silver chloride into a crucible and heat in an electri furnace. This will liberate the chlorine from the silver.
Are you sure? 😁 I was hoping that just dilute hcl not heated up would not be strong enough to reach with the silver n form a chloride, usually you need nitric to react with ag.
Yes. That is silver chloride. The electrolysis is creating silver ions that immediately combind with the chlorine in the muriatic acid (HCl). Often, nitric acid is used to electroplate silver. It is a more expensive acid but your silver yield will be better and with fewer steps.
The advantage nitric acid has over muriatic acid is that the silver nitrate IS soluble and stays in solution and is therefore much more efficient in the electroplating process. There are quite a few RU-vid videos on this process. Streetips is one such RU-vid channel that refines silver in large, multi-pound, batches using nitric acid. You have a great channel and you are definately on the right track.
An unknown piece of "silver" alloy can be quickly measured for specific gravity to determine its approximate makeup. You will need an accurate gram scale; a plastic container that will fit on the scale platform and is large enough to hold the item being measured without touching the sides or bottom of the container; enough distilled water to fill the container around 3/4 full; and a piece of thread or dental floss. First weigh the item in question and write down the weight in grams. Next, tie a thread to the item so it can be dangled all the way into the container without touching the bottom or sides. Place the container onto the scale and fill with enough water to cover the item completely. Tare (zero out) the scale. Finally, dangle the item so it is covered with water but doesn't touch the container, and record the final weight measurement. Divide the first weight measurement by the second. Pure silver should measure 10.5; Sterling silver 10.4; 90% (coin) silver 10.3; 80% (continental) silver 10.16-10.17. Copper measures only around 8.86 - and various brass alloys even lower.
I don't know how this eventually settled - but you do have to be very cautious with XRF scanners - as their penetration depth is very limited. Heavy silver plating will often read as high silver content. I have found a lot of Mexican pieces - particularly ones marked from "TAXCO" - to be plated base metal pieces marked as 925, 850 or 800 silver.
Thanks for the response, I know that heavy plated pieces are tricking xrf scanners, I wish I had a sigma to use. Overall, it never did get settled, I refused that they cut into it, if it is real its melt value is miniscule, and I didn't want to damage it. Hopefully it will be worth something some day. I will just keep it. And that is a bit scary. I come across silver in plated boxes and when I find fake sterling I can often take a huge hit. Of course I can afford it because it doesn't happen very often. I remembered my friend found and went for a Mexican "silver" cake stand, I told him dude be very very careful, since cake stands are too big to make from sterling, and I was right that it was fake.
@@gmgssilverplate The Sigma is definitely very handy - but with a sterling hollow ware or flatware item you have to use a probe with the backing disc, and compare a raw volume resistivity measurement against a sample library you have set up in advance. Mine has paid for itself many times over helping me to avoid "unfortunate mistakes".
That sounds very complicated, I can't buy a sigma though, I would rather keep buying more silver / silver plate. Since I don't buy silver and gold directly from people right now, and I can't test any metal before I buy (they are all from online boxes from Goodwill) it wouldn't make financial sense. I'm glad it works for you though! They're huge investments.
Thanks! That was a while ago... Iirc they refunded me to full, and then I was still able to keep the other 3 pieces because they didn't make me send it back, and I made a decent profit, especially on the waste bowl, but it did suck.
@@gmgssilverplate Eternally yours is my mother's pattern that she got for her wedding. I pick up a piece of it here and there when I can find it affordable for me. It's just sentimental.
@@richcincotta6702 I am going to look at it again a bit closely, but apparently olive tongs are also a thing to look for. Those seem to be 3 prongs though.
@@richcincotta6702 And I suppose these came from a time where actually having ice at hand was a sign of wealth. I heard that people used to ship giant blocks of ice from the North. It was a huge trade.
That's a Christofle Albi silverplated thermos jug. It is made after 1983, with the recent hallmarks of Christofle. That's actually a great find! Retail value is upwards of 800 euro's/900 dollars at Christofle's webstore. You might be able to bend back the dent in the lid on the bottom by sticking 2 pieces of felt with a glue cover (like the little pieces people put underneath chair legs) on a pair of plyers and bending it slightly.
Certainly plausible, I thought given the control the government had on the economy they could just stamp the price of the pieces, at least that's what I saw from a bit of research.
I'm so sad to see this happen and so sorry that it happened to you. It sucks to see something that has lasted over a century be ruined by the incompetence of careless people. If it was insured them I'd be inclined to file a claim. I really appreciate your passion for these beautiful pieces of our history.
Thanks Rich, I will try to get a partial refund from them. The only way to get a full refund is to send the lot back, which I won't do. I guess I'm just getting rather frustrated, and I do not want this to seem like this is a slight against their employees. Every single person who has a job makes mistakes. It's not really that as much as that the mistakes like these that I get angry about are very very blatant. When things like this occur, there is a system wide failure, imo, which if not corrected will continue to cost Goodwill much "Good Will." In this instance, even the most minimal of packaging voidfill would have given the pieces a much greater chance of survival. It could have been newspaper, plastic wrap, foam, peanuts, shredded boxes, anything. They need to come up with something, whether it is a supervisor or a team that does a final check on packages before they get sent out or more team leaders that works more closely with employees for on the job training, I don't know, it just needs to be something. And I do not want it to seem like I am attacking the "capabilities" of individual employees who work there. I am not. I worked 6 months with a non-profit which hired many people who were differently abled. I made friends with many of them while I was there. They were incredible people that had a lot of pride in their work, even if it was simply to remove staples from packs of papers and unfold them, if they were folded, before they were to be copied so they could be archived. They did a great job, but there were three other employees, myself included on some days, who kept an eye on things and caught mistakes when they were made, but they needed constant watching over and consistent encouragement. This is a management wide and cultural problem at this point.
Interesting. That makes a lot of sense, but it's kind of crazy how rare they seem to be. You would think there'd be one for most silver and silver plated sets but I don't think they even make them for a lot of the common patterns.
@@gmgssilverplate they were much more common during Georgian times as tea was a very expensive commodity and was often kept under lock and key. As time went on they were less needed and often not included in tea sets. An accessory that seems to have replaced the tea caddy was the slop bowl. This was used to contain the used tea that collected in the tea strainer and residue in the bottom of the cup.
Great watch! I agree that aesthetic period pieces are very undervalued right now. It's a shame! Fortunately the interest in antique silver plate is growing. As people are starting to appreciate and recognize the craftsmanship that goes into making it. There are some extraordinary and rare pieces out there that are being overlooked, right now, which is a plus for people like you and I😉😁
Thank you so much for the shout out and confidence! It actually made my day. I have a few reservations about your pot being old Sheffield plate. The form of the pot it's not like any form that I have seen.... and I have seen a lot! The fact that it is brass also gives me hesitation. OSP rarely used brass and it was only used in very specific applications. It was generally used where things were screwed in or the screw itself. If there is a way for you to share up close pictures of specific areas then I would be glad to look at them. Take a look inside the pot and look for a seam that would run from top to bottom right where the handle is soldered on. That is generally the first indication of OSP. I know that you have the marks on the bottom but many old Sheffield players reverted to electroplate later on unused the same marks. Either way, it's a lovely coffee pot. I'm interested to hear your response
I as well, it didn't seem to be OSP, and that while I found that the "bell" mark is the maker mark I was able to connect to an OSP maker, I didn't find any seems that seemed to indicate it, and since the company did appear long lived, it is certainly plausible that they switched to electroplating later. I also was wondering if a former owner replated it. Would they have used brass and then silver if they did? There's so many questions. I will look inside the piece and look for any indications of soldering the handle on, I could not find any on the finial.
Nice box lot! If I may give you a little assistance..... the first piece that you show, a little creamer, is actually a syrup pitcher. The elongated spout and hinged lid gives it away. He's generally came with an under plate but more often than not they are missing. The English tray is a reproduction of Old Sheffield Plate where the use of bun feet was very popular. They were all so much easier to make which made it a little more economical.
Hey Rich thanks for the feedback on the piece being a syrup pitcher. That's right that the hinged lid would give it away. I've found a few of those, they sell pretty decently. I have a question for you. Are you English or American, maybe Canadian? It may be that Americans are more likely to just refer to that style as ball feet and other cultures will call it bun feet? I'm interested in what you have to say about that. Cheers.
@@gmgssilverplate I'm glad I could help! I think a syrup pitcher would definitely sell better than a cream without its sugar. Some syrup pictures are really unique and beautiful. I am American and live near Boston Massachusetts. I primarily collect English silver and old Sheffield plate. This is why I'm better versed on the terms.
@@gmgssilverplate yes! You will see ball feet used more on tea , coffee / tea pots, sugars/creamers and the like. Generally you will see bun feet on trays
What a great little haul that you had! I'm so happy to see a young man show so much interest in this hobby... especially silver plate! There are some amazing pieces out there to be discovered you crack me up laughing while you were describing the candlesticks at the end that fell over and how it would affect your date and then now you're back to square one! That just struck me as immensely cute and funny. I would find that very cute and endearing if my date did that for me. Keep up the good finds and the videos!!😁
I found your channel while googling how to clean silverplate. I just brought home my first box of silver plate and your content has been very informative. . Ive been jumping from treasure to treasure as I find them to sell on ebay not knowing what to focus on. I cleaned several pieces while binge watching your videos. You have inspired me, Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I too appreciate craftmanship Long Live Silver Plate! ;) ;);)
Hello, Your message means a lot to me. I love that you're even watching my older content. It's a lot rougher around the edges since I've started these videos, and I've learned a bunch since I've started as well. We live during a really weird time where there's millions and millions of pounds of silver plate that has been basically orphaned and is being sent to scrap yards every year, and one day I thought maybe one day it'd be worth recovering the silver from this stuff, then the more I researched the companies and history behind the pieces the more I started to enjoy silver plate for silver plates sake and not just an ends to a means, but there's definitely opportunities in the space for whatever someone wants to do with it, whether that's scrapping silver and being a backyard refiner, finding an incredible flatware pattern for cheap and hosting amazing historical themed parties, or just making a few bucks off the side by flipping the stuff. I wanted to tackle this subject from as broad a lens I could and see where the subject would take me. I do hope you enjoy your own journey and I hope to keep making videos for at least several more years. Thanks for watching.
Were those counterfeits silver plated? There was an article about this, I think in The Magazine Antiques, and I've been wanting to find that issue but haven't been able to locate it. The issue was probably from the 1940s, 50s or 60s and as I remember the article mentions my ancestor, Captain Philip Dumaresq who was in the China trade in the mid 1800s.
Hello, Thanks for your message. I had them tested by a coin shop and they reported 88% silver. Counterfeit may be a strong word, it could be considered "imitation," as the Chinese were copying European designs because Europe wasn't interested in Chinese motifs/ designs like we are today, and they didn't copy the marks perfectly, like a counterfeiter would do, but put their unique and funny looking spin on it, without realizing what the marks even meant. They made King George look like Pinocchio on my spoon, and I think that's hilarious. I would love to see that article too. Is there anything cool to read about your ancestor online as well? Chinese export silver is now highly collectible, funny enough.
