Silver Linings.

Not to be negative, but it’s a not-so-hidden secret that the economy has been struggling for the past half-decade—both on a national and local level. We all know someone who has lost a job and we’ve all had to rethink our own lifestyle choices from time to time. But on the flip side, it’s made us appreciate what we have, and all the little things that makeup this patchwork quilt called life, even more.

So when silver prices dropped sharply during the month of May (from a peak of $50 to a low of $33), we’re not going to lie: We inhaled sharply at first. But after thinking over the price drop, which affected all manner of commodities, including gold, oil and the dollar itself, we breathed out, calmly, again.

Why that moment of zen, you ask, especially when we deal heavily in silver? Well, according to The New York Times, there was unease over all manner of commodities to begin with, precipitated by unease over a potential slowdown in economic growth around the world. Then add to that the fact that the price of silver had risen 149 percent since September 2010—an astonishing amount of growth over a very short period of time. Analysts warned that this growth would not last, that it was unbalanced; it seems that now things are returning to what is considered normal pricing (not dissimilarly to the way the real estate bubble burst a few years ago).

Still, the unexpected drop in price—and the free-for-all that ensued, with prices rollercoastering up and down—understandably made a lot of other silver buyers and sellers nervous. They wondered if they should sell, if they should invest, if the market was going to rebound, if prices would dip lower. But experts say  we should see the silver market begin to right itself, and get back to a healthy and as-stable-as-possible price, by mid-June—in other words, right now.

So what do you do, then?

We say it’s business as usual. Don’t be afraid to buy; don’t be afraid to sell. Sure, you should be cautious and consider your investments carefully—but you should always do that, no matter what. And don’t be afraid to contact us  if you have questions, need an appraisal, or just want to talk about the market itself. We’re here to help however we can.

Silver Hallmarks

For this month’s blog, let’s talk about silver hallmarks. You already know how much we love silver at Sarasota Antique Buyers, but now it’s time to tell you a little bit more about why.

If you recall, last month we discussed porcelain and the hallmarks that accompany different types of porcelain from different areas of the world. Silver hallmarks operate in much the same manner. They are applied to pieces of silver using a hammer and a punch, usually before the piece receives its final polishing.

Hallmarks are an indicator of a piece of silver’s purity, its manufacturer and/or silversmith and additional information about the piece, which varies from nation to nation. Some countries even use a national assayer to verify the purity of the silver. In other words, silver is serious business.

It’s especially serious in the U.K. and Ireland, where lots of information about the origin and quality of a piece of silver can be found through its punches. The assayer’s mark indicates purity, the date mark provides the exact year the piece was made, and the city mark indicates in which city the piece was assayed, or checked for purity. Each silver maker has his own maker’s mark; typically the maker’s initials inside an escutcheon, or shield. Irish silver contains an image of Hibernia, a tradition introduced in 1730 that continues even today.

In France, the assay mark for silver is an image of the head of Minerva, the Roman goddess of, most notably, poetry, medicine, wisdom and music. It’s also important to note that the French standard of quality for sterling silver is higher than other nations’; the French require 95 percent silver content. Items of lower-grade silver still contain the image of Minerva, but are also marked with the number two. Like the British and Irish, the French also punch silver pieces with a maker’s mark.

The U.S., on the other hand, does not have a national assay system or date marking system; however, some silver manufacturers, such as Tiffany, did adopt their own date-mark system. However, American manufacturers do apply a maker’s mark—for example, a lion passant or rampant and the letter “G” for the Gorham company, or the letters “T. and Co.” for Tiffany and Company. And even though no date marking
system was ever adopted, manufacturers’ catalogs and patent dates can be used to trace the origin and purity of a piece of American silver.

Because antique silver is often found tarnished, it’s important to refer to these hallmarks to determine the quality and time period of the piece—and remember that even though the silver may look undesirable at first, it can turn into a beautiful, sparkling, valuable piece very quickly. If you are interested in buying or
selling a piece of silver, please don’t hesitate to contact us, and we will be happy to assist you! We look forward to hearing from you!

Silver Linings

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our blog. At Sarasota Antique Buyers, we have a deep-seated love for art and history, and we’re dedicated to sharing that passion with you. We’ll use this space as a place in which to share tips, facts and news about the antiques business from an insider’s point of view, on a monthly basis. We’re thrilled to have you along with us.

So let’s begin by talking about one of our favorite subjects: silver. 

We like to buy any kind of sterling silver at Sarasota Antique Buyers, as long as it’s not silver plate. What is silver plate, you ask? An item that has been silver plated means that some kind of silver—usually sterling—has been used to cover a base metal. In other words, the piece isn’t made entirely from sterling silver; it’s simply coated with it. It’s less expensive to manufacture, but it’s also lower quality.

Your next question, then, might be, What’s the difference between pure silver and sterling silver? Well, pure silver is usually too soft to be rendered useable, making sterling silver optimum for everyday use because it’s a much stronger material. Sterling silver is made from pure silver that is then blended with another metal—such as copper or platinum—to give it strength.

Sterling silver became particularly stylish during the mid-to-late 19^th century, when it was advertised as the most fashionable way to set a “proper” dinner table. Due to its popularity, everything from flatware to saucers, trays, pitchers and candelabras were crafted and sold as “on trend,” creating a something of a silver craze. A number of prestigious silver manufacturing companies were birthed from the mid-1800s until the 1920s, and although sterling silver fell somewhat out of fashion around World War II, thanks to rising production costs, it continues to be a prized possession for both collectors and buyers. 

When we buy silver at our shop, one of our favorite things to look for is the piece’s hallmark. Hallmarks are key to identifying the purity of a piece of silver, as well as its manufacturer and any other important information about the piece. Hallmarks are applied to the piece with a hammer and punch, and so they’re generally created before final polishing. 

Sterling silver’s hallmarks vary from country to country. France’s hallmark, for example, is the head of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom (cool, right?). Sterling silver hailing from the UK or Ireland often contains a whole series of punches, including a stamp indicating the purity of the silver, a date stamp, a city stamp and a maker’s mark. Irish silver also contains all of those and an image of Hibernia, which is the Latin name for the isle of Ireland.  Meanwhile, American-made silver often contains nothing but a maker’s mark, which varies from company to company (i.e., Tiffany & Co.). Figuring out how old, which country and which maker a piece comes from is a fun mystery, one that we love solving.

When it comes to selling your silver, you’ll first want to determine the amount of silver your piece contains. This helpful chart, from www.ajewelle.com, provides a good starting point: 

Type of Silver	Amount of Actual Silver Contained
.999 or 999 (purest, highest worth)	99%
.9684 (English Britannia)	96%
950	95%
.925 (sterling silver)	92.5%
.900 (“coin” silver)	90%
Standard silver	89%
84 (Russia)	84%
835	83.5%
.800	80%
With Hallmark	Check with us to determine
*Source: www.ajewelle.com

At our shop, we are happy to help you determine what kind of silver you’re in possession of and how much silver it actually contains. We’ll also help you uncover the history of your item. And if you’re interested in selling to us, we’ll come to you—so please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (941) 726-0401 or send us an email by clicking here.

Again, welcome to our blog and thanks for reading—please leave a comment letting us know what else you’d like to see, and we’ll look forward to having you back next month!