Showing posts with label silver plate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silver plate. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

BBC bargain hunt tips – How to spot Real Silver?

Silver appears on every episodes of the TV show “Bargain hunt” on BBC TV. If it’s real silver then it can be valued by its weight alone. A piece of good silver can realise a good price at auction and can make a profit and even a winning item for the Bargain Hunt teams (or at least wipe its face!)

But . . .


How do you spot real silver?

Many things for sale that purport to be silver are not real silver. Sometimes these items are sold as silver by a lack of knowledge on the part of the seller and sometimes other motives are unfortunately used.

A knowledge of hallmarks is important here and I would suggest that you take a look at this hallmarks guide featured at the bottom of this page.

Also you should learn the terms below that refer to silver styled items that are often mistakenly advertised as silver.

Sterling Silver Plate
Sterling Silverplate – This doesn’t exist even though you will see it advertised because sterling is an alloy it is unsuitable to use as a silver source for plating.

E.P.N.S
This stands for Electro Plated Nickel-Silver. Common variations on this are E.P., E.P.C. (Electro Plate on Copper), E.P.W.M. (Electro Plate on White Metal), E.P.B. or E.P.B.M. (Electro Plate on Britannia Metal).

(See More about this)

Any item marked with E.P. is silverplate and as such has no precious metal value.

Nickel Silver
Nickel-Silver is a common base metal alloy consisting of nickel, copper and zinc. There is no silver in it whatsoever. The name was coined because the metal is silvery in colour and polishes to a shine. Other names used for the same metal are: Alpacca or Alpacca Silver; Brazil Silver; German Silver; Peru Silver; New York Silver; New Silver; Nevada Silver; Norwegian Silver; Silverite; Venetian Silver; Potosi Silver; and Sonora Silver to name just a few.

(Nickel-silver is strong and durable but it doesn't have any metal value).

White Metal
White Metal - This is a silvery coloured alloy usually containing a mixture of antimony, tin, lead, zinc, and cadmium. In the U.K. the British fine arts trade uses the term 'white metal' to describe all foreign items which do not have official British Assay Office marks struck on them.

Brittania Metal
Britannia Metal is a non-silver base metal similar to pewter which is popular because it is durable and polishes to a silver-like lustre. This is an alloy of 93% tin, 5% antimony and 2% copper. Not to be confused with 958 Britannia from Great Britain.




BUY A SILVER TESTING KIT

Friday, April 1, 2011

The Difference between silver and silver plate

Sterling Silver and Plated Silver both have a characteristic sheen that can reflect brillianly under both candle light and natural light. both types of silver can be similar weights but sterling silver is considerably more valuable financially than silver plate.

So when one tell whether their silver coloured metal is the real thing?

Well, Sterling silver has several characteristics that distinguishes it from plated silver.

Silver jewelry comes in various forms, including sterling and plated. Sterling has 92.5 percent silver content; plated has a thin layer of silver bonded to a base metal.
Sterling silver is more expensive and retains its value over time because of its high silver content.

How to distinguish between Silver and silver plate

1 Check for sterling markings. These are words or numbers stamped on a item that represent its value. If it is a piece of jewelry, such as a necklace or ring, turn it over. For silverware, look on the handle, and for tea pots, look at the bottom. You should see the number ".925" marked on the piece. You may also see, "925/1000", or just the word "Sterling". Any of these indicate the piece is sterling silver.

2 Check for plated silver markings. These are found in the same places as sterling markings. You may see "EP," "EPNS," "EPC" or "Heavy Plate." These or any other markings other than sterling markings usually indicate an item is silver plated. Sometimes the markings are so small that you will need to use a magnifying glass.

3 Look for markings from other countries. Not all countries mark sterling silver the same way. For instance, some sterling silver items in England have a lion's head engraved, and sterling silver from Norway is marked "830." Research a silver marking guide, such as the "Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks and Makers' Marks" "Guide to gold and silver hallmarks"to compare the markings on your item and determine its country of origin.

4 Apply nitric acid to the surface. It will not affect sterling silver, but will turn silver-plated items green. Buy a silver jewelry testing kit; it will likely include a nitric acid-based solution. Find an inconspicuous spot on the item. Lightly scratch the spot with your fingernail or a needle, and apply a small drop of nitric acid.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

What is Silver Plate

What is silver plate? 

It looks like silver and shines like silver but although it can reach high prices in antique auctions it has little or no precious metal value.

Why? 
Well this is because there is very little silver in it.

When researching information about silver the words silver plate occur often. At first glance silver plate looks like other silver. It has a lovely reflective quality and looks wonderful as a dinner service laid out at a banquet or wedding reception.

Silver plate is actually a very thin layering or coating of pure silver over a base metal. The most common base metals used are copper, brass, nickel-silver, white metal, and Britannia metal.

There are two main types of silver plate and they are Sheffield plate and electroplate.

Sheffield plate derives its name from the town of Sheffield in England where it originated. To create the silver plate a layer of base metal was placed between a top and bottom layer of pure silver. The metals were wrought or rolled until the two metals were bonded. Thus the base metal was 'plated' and could then be used for manufacturing.

Silver plate went through a revolution in 1805 when a new technique was invented. A technique that would destroy the Sheffield technique in under 20 years.

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