How to Identify British Antique Silver & Plate
Antique silver and its plated counterparts come in many guises. What is sterling silver? What is the difference between Old Sheffield Plate and Sheffield Plated? Is white metal, silver? How can I tell if a piece is solid silver or electroplated silver?
These terms are often bandied about in the trade but it can be confusing to know what is what. This article provides a short history about silver and the different terms that are used to describe British silver and plate.
Silver is one of the seven metals of antiquity along with gold, mercury, iron, tin, lead, and copper that were discovered by prehistoric humans in Europe and the Middle East.
Its history begins some 5,000 years ago in Anatolia where it was first mined, as ancient civilisations that would define the world began to flourish there.
It is a soft and malleable metal, which makes it very easy to work with. Perhaps with early humans being attracted to its lustrous properties, it was initially used as a form of currency and in jewellery.
Silver is located in Group 11 (Ib) and Period 5 of the periodic table, between copper (Period 4) and gold (Period 6), with its physical and chemical properties being intermediate between those two metals. It has the symbol Ag from Latin argentum.
It is the 68th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust and 65th in cosmic abundance. It is formed from sulphur compounds in the hot crust of the earth at temperatures between 95 and 200 degrees celsius.
A brine solution from concentrated saltwater that exists in the crust holds the silver in a dissolved form. If the brine solution then comes into contact with cold seawater the silver will fall out of the solution onto the seafloor as a mineral.
By 1,200 BCE silver production was centred in ancient Greece’s Laurium mines where it was actively mined up until 100 CE. By then the majority of silver production had moved across to Spain with it becoming the predominant source for the Roman Empire as well as being an essential trading element along the Asian spice routes.
However it was with the European colonists, after Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Americas in 1492, that drove the desire for the white metal to new heights.
Between 1500 and 1800, Bolivia, Peru and Mexico accounted for over 85 percent of world silver production a trade that allowed Spain to bolster its influence in the New World and elsewhere.
New discoveries continued to be made throughout the world and by the 1870s, 80 million ounces were being extracted annually. As mining techniques advanced into the 20th century ever more silver was mined to meet the insatiable demand.
As silver was mined, and produced into various wares, throughout the world, with each country having its own specific styles, and systems of marking, this article aims to only discuss one, British silver. With its early sophisticated system of hallmarking and large production, is the most encountered antique silver in the English speaking world.
Traditionally, it was displayed as a symbol of wealth of important families and religious theocracies. It also had the added advantage of being able to be melted down and sold as bullion, or transported in times of upheaval. A great deal of domestic silver has survived from the 17th century onwards that affords collectors a wide variety of choice.
Title image attribution: Sean Pathasema/Birmingham Museum of Art
Sterling Silver
Sterling silver is the British term for silver that is 92.5% pure. As pure silver is too soft to be used on its own for domestic wares it must be mixed with alloys, which is usually 7.5% copper but can also sometimes contain nickel.
While an association of goldsmiths existed in London as early as 1180, it was not officially recognised until Edward III’s Act of 1327. This acknowledged the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and gave them the right to have all silver items assayed at the Goldsmith’s Hall (this is where the term hallmark is derived from).
The standard mark, which was first a leopard’s head, is to guarantee that an item is sterling and that its duties have been paid. An item is usually found with four stamped marks that include: the maker’s mark, the standard mark, town mark and date letter mark. Sometimes a commemorative mark or other duty mark can appear.
London was the first Assay Office, with other main ones established in Birmingham, Chester, Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Newcastle, Norwich and York. There were also minor Assay Offices in smaller towns such as Barnstaple, Coventry and King’s Lynn.
Britannia Standard
This was a higher purity of silver (95.84%) that was used between 1697 and 1720. This came about due to the illegal practice of clipping, which involved nicking off a minute piece of silver from the edge of coins until a sizeable hoard of silver was amassed. An offence punishable by death!
To prevent this the government issued coinage with a milled edge through an Act of Parliament in 1697, withdrawing all clipped coins from circulation. To make any hoarded silver clippings useless to a silversmith the silver purity was thus raised.
As this new metal was much softer it could no longer support some of the thinner gauged designs that were popular during the Restoration. Embossing and repousśe work fell away in favour of heavier cast, chased and engraved pieces.
Britannia silver was denoted by two new standard marks, the lion’s head erased and the figure of Britannia. In 1720 the earlier standard of 92.5% pure was reinstated by popular demand along with the old standard marks.
It had disastrous effects on many smaller silversmiths, pushing many out of business, making things more expensive for both buyer and maker. Nevertheless it now makes an interesting area for the collector.
White Metal
This is not British made silver but rather a British legal term that is used to describe foreign silver items for sale, such as in auction catalogues, which do not carry British Assay Office hallmarks, but which are understood to be silver.
It is also a term in the antiques trade often used to describe Continental items that are lower in silver purity, like .800 (80% purity). Or of items believed to be silver but are not marked.
Old Sheffield Plate
Invented in the middle of the 18th century by Thomas Boulsover, a Sheffield cutler. Old Sheffield Plate was made by fusing a layer of silver onto copper, slightly alloyed with zinc and lead. It was placed in a furnace and when cooled rolled.
Principally used in making flatware and everyday vessels, it is now admired for its soft, glowing lustre. Design and quality were of a similar level to their sterling counterparts and many early pieces were stamped with marks resembling silver hallmarks.
This practice was outlawed in 1773 and as such Old Sheffield Plate pieces carry no marks between 1773 and 1784. Later items may or may not carry a mark.
When Old Sheffield Plate has worn to an extent where the copper beneath the silver shows it is known as ‘bleeding’. With the invention of electroplating in 1840 it pushed the fusion technique of Old Sheffield Plate into oblivion by 1860.
It is not to be confused with 19th century electroplated items that are marked ‘Sheffield Plated’.
Close Plate
Close plate is the method of silver-plating steel. Electroplating steel is not possible due to the adverse reaction of the electrolyte on the base metal, which made it rust.
A finished item was first made in steel and then dipped in sal ammoniac, which acted as a flux, and then into molten tin, so that it was entirely coated. In the meantime silver foil was cut out into the shape of the item and placed in position.
A heated soldering iron was then rubbed over its surface, making the underlying tin melt and unify the silver and steel. It was a Sheffield and Birmingham trade that was first patented in 1789.
Items that were close plated were usually pieces that required additional strength than their softer silver counterparts such as: nutcrackers, belt buckles, spurs, scissors and knife blades.
Most close plate items are marked with an Act of Parliament of 1784 stating that Old Sheffield Platers and Close Platers working within the Sheffield area, as well as Birmingham, had to register their marks at the Sheffield Assay Office.
However by the 1830s this practise was largely ignored, though many items continued to be stamped.
Electroplate
In the 1842 the process of electroplating was perfected by Elkington & Co. An item, made of either brass, copper, nickel, Britannia metal or other base metal, was placed in a solution of potassium cyanide in a Portland cement lined vat.
A positive pole was attached to a 100% pure sheet of silver while a low-voltage current was then passed through the solution. The silver sheet acted as a cathode producing silver ions which passed into the solution.
These were drawn to the article, which acted as an anode, sticking to its surface. Depending on how long the item was immersed determined the thickness of the plating.
As the process was much faster and cheaper Old Sheffield Plate manufacturers quickly moved over this new method.
Common base metals used were:
- Nickel silver – found to be the best base for electroplating, it is an alloy of copper, zinc, nickel silver and nickel. They are often stamped EPNS (Electroplated Nickel Silver) and are often accompanied with the stamp A1 to denote best quality
- Britannia metal – a form of hard pewter that was developed around 1770 as a cheaper alternative to Old Sheffield Plate. It was later found to be a good base for electroplating in 1845. After 1855 the stamp EPBM is often found.
- Copper – popular at the beginning of electroplating, however it was found to be less suitable than nickel silver because the silver plate wore away more quickly exposing the base metal. Items are often stamped EP.
Hopefully this short article will help you to differentiate between silver and ‘silver looking’ items as there are many derivatives encountered, which effect value accordingly.
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