Silver

Silver Auctions

“Look for the lion”, people often say to me when giving their understanding of how to tell if something is silver, and indeed a good proportion of the time this is true. However, it can be when the lion isn’t to be found that we see some of the most collectable silver, for instance a piece of Irish, English or Scottish provincial silver. The maker can also make a huge difference to the value of a piece, with some being particularly sought after, along with age - a Georgian teapot may look similar to something made in the early 20^th century but is often significantly more valuable. British hallmarks are amongst the best in the world for giving you all the information you might want, year of manufacture, assay office, for instance Glasgow, London or Exeter and the maker’s mark, which sometimes with imported items can be the importer’s mark, for example with Berthold Muller. 

World silver can be a minefield, with many different methods of identification, from no marks at all, to a simple 925 or 800 number indicating the quality to a full set of marks indicating a similar level of detail to British marks. Many of these marking regimes changed over the years, so what may be relevant for 1820 may be quite different to what it would be marked in 1930. 

Designer pieces are highly collectable, and popular makers include Omar Ramsden and Alwyn Carr. Also desirable are Arts and Crafts pieces, as are items retailed by Liberty, and Christopher Dresser or Stuart Devlin retro silver is understandably popular.