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Resources
Updated 10.31.2022

 

Silver Appraisers
Silver Identification
Silver Dealers & Auction Houses
Silver & Its Uses
Engravers
Museums with Major Collections
Organizations
Silver Periodicals
Restoration Specialists by Medium
Other Sites of Interest
Current Precious Metal Prices
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Silver Appraisers

    Organizations / Companies

    American Society of Appraisers
    555 Herndon Parkway, Suite 125, Herndon, VA 20170, 703/478-2228,

    Appraisers Association of America, Inc.
    386 Park Ave. South, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10016, 212/889-5404,

    International Society of Appraisers
    1131 SW 7th St., Suite 105, Renton, WA 98055, 206/241-0359,

    New England Appraisers Association
    6973 Crestridge Rd., Memphis, TN 38119, 901/758-2659,

    Value My Stuff
    Silver experts from Sothebys value silver, plated silver, and objects of vertu such as small personal items and Russian silver and Fabergé. Collectible silver includes such items as early spoons, English and Continental tea and coffee sets, candelabras and trays as well as statuary and religious items. Appraisals start at $30.

    Silver Appraisals From Antiques Roadshow
    A great searchable resource from years of silver appraisals.

    Individuals

    Joseph P. Brady Appraisal Services
    Joseph Brady, 2870 Peachtree Rd. #495, Atlanta, GA 30305, 770/594-9293

    Waterman Appraisal & Services
    Karen Waterman, PO Box 134, Barrington, RI 02806, 401/595-4225

    Match Safe Appraisals
    Neil Shapiro, 128 Lancaster St., Albany, NY 12210-1904, 518/436-9522,
    Mr. Shapiro is an avid match safe collector and member of the International Match Safe Association. He offers free appraisals and research including names of makers or manufacturers, history, or materials of a particular match safe. If he can't help I will refer you to someone who can.


Silver Identification


Flatware Styles

    Detecting Modified Silver and Silver-plated Flatware
    Gain knowledge about modified flatware items that have been altered to make it appear to be a more valuable, rare or unusual piece.

    Flatware Pattern Guide (Silverplate)
    If you know the pattern name but not the manufacturer.

    Flatware Pattern Guide (Sterling)
    If you know the pattern name but not the manufacturer.

    Flatware Pattern Guide (Sterling, Coin)
    If you know the manufacturer but not the pattern name.

    Flatware Pattern Guide (Silverplate)
    If you know the manufacturer but not the pattern name.

    Flatware Utensil Guide
    Do you know the difference between a sugar scoop and a sugar shovel? No? This is a great guide to identify what you've been using all these years.

    Silver Fineness Marks
    The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of fine metal therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardness and durability of coins and jewelry, alter colors, decrease the cost per weight, or avoid the cost of high-purity refinement. * You'll notice the term "millessimal," this means parts per thousand e.g. .925/1000 or .925% fine silver and 7.5% other metal(s).

     

    Hallmarks, Housemarks & Makers' Marks (What's the difference?)

    American Arts & Crafts Makers' Marks
    An educational, research-oriented site on Arts & Crafts silver.  The site contains numerous examples, hundreds of silver marks, bibliographies, and silver resources such as old catalogs, and the full text and photos from silver articles that appeared in early 20th century publications.

    American Silver Marks (Silversmiths & Silver Companies)
    Extensive listing of silversmiths and manufacturers' housemarks. Also rarely seen Baltimore assay marks.

    American Silversmiths by William Erik Voss
    This is a single occupation/single tree study of American silversmiths. It links together, by blood or marriage, more than 1000 makers as far ranging as Robert Sanderson, working in Boston c.1640, to William Herbert Thurber who saw his family's company, Tilden-Thurber of Providence, Rhode Island, into the 20th century. In addition, Voss has included information on related pewtersmiths, clockmakers, artists, and metal engravers when available. This reference for collectors contains 3,853 silversmiths, jewelers, watchmakers, and other related craftsmen included in my larger family project, American Silversmiths.

    Marks on Silverplate
    If you have determined your silver is plated, this is where you'll discover the maker.

    Baltimore Assay Marks
    The only time and place in the U.S. where hallmarks were required on silver.

    British Hallmarking System
    Discover the meaning behind all of those marks - it's fascinating!

    British & Irish Silver Makers' Marks
    A fantastic and HUGE site for makers' marks from Birmingham, Chester, Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, London, Newcastle, Sheffield, and York.

    British & Irish Silver Date Letters
    To date your silver from its hallmark, first identify the assay office (e.g. anchor for Birmingham, leopard's head for London, etc.). Then click on the appropriate link to go to the tables of date letters. If you are unable to identify the assay office from one of the town marks, you may have a piece of imported silver. Town marks for imported silver have differed from the normal marks since 1904. Illustrations of the various import marks are shown on the Import Marks page.

    British Silversmith Index  new
    The history behind some of Great Britian's most famous silversmiths.

    Hallmarks of English Silver with Makers' Mark Identification
    Large resource for complete sets of hallmarks for makers

    Fused Plate (also known as Sheffield Plate) Marks
    The name applied to a variety of articles of domestic use or ornament, made of copper fused to silver by a special and now abandoned process. Many of these objects were actually manufactured in Birmingham, but as the secret of producing the material was discovered and brought to perfection in Sheffield, the name of that town was naturally connected with it, and thence transferred to articles constructed from it.

    English Lozenge Registration Marks
    A registration system that was enacted around 1842.

    Chinese Makers' Marks
    Sometimes confusing, but always interesting.

    International Encyclopedia of Hallmarks
    Outstanding compendium of silver marks from around the world.

    Heritage Auction's International Database
    A small collection of large, clear makers' marks.

    Jewelry Makers' Marks
    Antique Jewelry University has an outstanding database of makers from around the world.

     

    Family Crests

    Family Crest Identification
    Family crests are an element of heraldry which evolved in the Middle Ages to identify the wearer of armour in battle and flourished with the popularity of jousting tournaments. Heraldic markings started with simple colours and shapes and became more complicated over time.

 

Silver Companies (American)

    Gorham Manufacturing Company / Reed & Barton / International Silver Company / Towle Silversmiths / Wallace Silversmiths
    Above companies now owned by LifetimeBrands, 1000 Stewart Ave., Garden City, NY 11530, 516/683-6000 questions@lifetimebrands.com.

    The Gorham Archive Blog
    The Gorham Archive weblog is intended as a forum for sharing information on the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island (1831-2001) and its products.  Principle contributors will be staff at Brown and RISD currently working on the IMLS-funded collaborative project to design a database for the Gorham Archive. Theay encourage participation from scholars, museum curators, collectors and others interested in and knowledgeable about elements of Gorham history.

    International Silver Company / Meriden Brittania Company / Rogers Bros.
    Wilcox Silver Plate Company / Wm. Rogers
    Above companies archived at the Meriden Historical Society, Records Center, 1090 Hanover Rd., S. Meriden, CT 06450, 203/639-1913. Hours: Wednesdays 2:00-4:30 pm.

    Lunt Silversmiths
    After declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-December 2009, Lunt's assets were acquired by competing silver manufacturer Reed & Barton of Taunton, MA (now a LifetimeBrands company). The design drawings from Lunt are now housed at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, 5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19735, 800/448-3883.

    Stieff (out of business)
    Scott Perkins built the best resource for anyone researching Stieff's history and product identification. There is also a small section on Schofield Silver

     

    Individual Silversmiths

    Paul de Lamerie
    A mini-biography on Engand's most prominent Dutch-born silversmith.

    Paul Revere
    Visit this site to find out more about America's most renowned silversmith. Of equal interest is Paul Revere's family tree and the Paul Revere Heritage Project.

    William Spratling Silver
    A great website with information on Mexico's most famous silversmith, William Spratling.

    Paul Storr
    England's most prominent English-born silversmith.


Silver Dealers & Auction Houses

Christie's
20 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10020
212/636-2000

M. Ford Creech Antiques
581 South Perkins Rd.
Memphis, TN 38117
901/761-1163

DC Silver
Nate Ivey, purveyor

Marsh & Ackerman Antiques
PO Box 373
Swansea, MA 02777
508/675-4889, Cell: 508/277-9942

Drucker Antiques, Inc.
487 East Main Street, Ste. 197
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
914/923-4560

Old Friends – Dennis Knight
Offering a selection of coin and sterling from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Worcester, MA

Firestone & Parson
8 Newbury St.
Boston, MA 02116
617/266-1858

S.J. Shrubsole
26 East 81th St.
New York, NY 10028
212/753-8920

Greenwald Antiques
28480 Chagrin Blvd.
Woodmere Village, OH 44122
216/839-6100

Sotheby's
1334 York Ave.
New York, NY 10021
800/813-5968

Heritage Auction Galleries
1518 Slocum St.
Dallas, TX 75207
800/872-6467

Spencer Marks Ltd.
PO Box 330
Southampton, MA 01073
413/527-7344

Lamb Silver
Specializing in early American silver
Chads Ford, PA 19317
631/655-7550


Silver & Its Uses


Engravers

See engraving samples here.

    George Bentley Fine Hand Engraver new
    Outstanding holloware, flatware, and jewelry engraving, coats of arms, wax seals.
    12160 State Highway 42, Ellison Bay, WI 54210, 434/977-2787,

    Bertram Edmonston IV
    Firearm and precious metal engraving.
    PO Box 1473, Tullahoma, TN 37388, 240/367-6082,

    Brian Powley Engravers
    Brian uses traditional hammer and chisel, push engraving, acid-etching and pneumatic GraverMax technology. He specializes in firearms, musical instruments, knives, jewelry and restores the original factory stampings on antique auto parts. Brian is well known in the music industry as one of the nation's premier flute engravers. For the past 10 years, he also engraved the "Gun of the Year" featured in The American Handgunner Magazine, where he is also a freelance writer. 206 Oakwood Ave., Bloomingdale, OH 43910, 740/543-8448,

    Adone T. Pozzobon
    Specializing in highly detailed signet rings. 6 Leamington Ave., Etobicoke, Ontario M8Z 2W4 Canada, 416/231-9973, 877/231-9973,


Museums with Major Collections


Organizations

    Ganoksin
    The gem and jewelry world's foremost information resource on the Internet.

    Silver Society of Canada
    The Silver Society of Canada counts collectors, dealers, auction houses, and museums personnel to its membership. Our mission is to further knowledge about antique and modern silver. You find news and articles on the homepage and many more in the archives.


Silver Periodicals

    The Eden Sterling Company
    Publishers of The Historical Catalogue Series. This is a series of seven professionally reprinted silver trade catalogues from the late 19th century and early 20th century. See Scott V. Martin's review of Eden's Unger Bros. catalog here.

    Silver Magazine
    The only publication specializing in the entire field of silver, featuring the finest in research pertaining to the world of silver, with articles on primarily antique English, Continental, and Colonial American silver.

    SM Publishers
    Publishers of The Book of Silver, Flatware Silver Marks & Patterns, and The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects.


Restoration Specialists By Medium

    Armour Restoration: Nigel Carren
    Historic european armour recreated and restored. 16th and 17th century armour and works in miniature a speciality.

    Book Restoration & Conservation: Jeffrey S. Peachey
    Peachey is the owner of a New York City-based studio specializing in the conservation of books for individuals, institutions and collectors. He is a Professional Associate in the American Institute for Conservation and was Chair of the Conservators In Private Practice in 2007-8. For more than 20 years, he has specialized in the conservation of books and paper artifacts for institutions and individuals. He has served as a consultant to major libraries and university collections in the New York City region and nationally.

    Ceramic Restoration & Conservation: The Restoration Studio
    Rho Brown is the owner and senior conservator. While her specialty is ceramic and glass restoration, she also restores art objects of ivory, jade, wood, marble, stone, and bronze, your collectible dolls (including restringing, cleaning, cutting & sewing of clothes).

    Cigarette Lighter Restoration: ARS & Elegant Lighters
    Specializing in Dupont & Dunhill lighters.

    Clock, Watch & Automata Restoration: Memoria Technica
    Seattle-based workshop offering a range of services, including conservation and restoration of automata, mechanical music objects, and complicated musical automata clocks and watches. Our treatment options range from a quick assessment and stabilization to full, in-depth conservation and analysis.

    Cookware Restoration: East Coast Tinning
    Jim Hamann refurbishes copper pots and pans by retinning the cooking surface with the traditional hand-wiped method. Any dents are repaired and the exterior copper is polished to a new shine.

    Enamel Restoration: Rosanna Polizzotto
    Rosanna has a BFA in painting and attended the Art Students League and The School of Visual Arts in New York City.  You will not be able to see the repair with the naked eye and in most cases with a ten power loupe. All enameling is done with a conservators approach using a cold technique which preserves the original work.

    Fountain Pen Nib Restoration: Nibs
    Confronted with a damaged or mangled nib unit, many pen owners may throw their favorite writing instrument in a drawer and think it beyond repair--and that is how many vintage fountain pens have come to light after years of being lost and forgotten. But the repair and restoration work that can be done on a 14k or greater gold nib unit can often be astounding, returning both nib and pen to full functionality. Whether you have a contemporary pen that has just taken a nose-dive off the dining room table, or a vintage pen that has been sitting in a box for the past fifty years, the nib repair work done here at Nibs can often result in a pen that writes as well as or better than when it was first sold.

    Furniture Restoration & Conservation: Period Furniture Conservation
    Yuri Yanchyshyn is the principal and senior conservator of Period Furniture Conservation, a New York City firm dedicated to furniture and objects conservation. Prior to founding the company, Yuri worked as a consulting conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His firm's clients include museums, historical societies, auction houses, collectors, fine arts advisors, dealers, designers, architects, and other conservators. 

    Gilding Restoration: Gold Leaf Restoration
    For 30 years, Gold Leaf Restoration has been at the forefront of bringing the medieval art of gilding into the modern age. Gilding, which is the painstaking application of a thin metal “leaf” or film to a wide variety of surfaces, is often valued for reasons of historical accuracy, as well as the uniqueness it imparts to modern objects.

    Glass Beveling: Huisman Glass
    Specializing in all forms of beveled glass including hand mirror replacements, chip removal.

    Glass Inserts: Pairpoint Glass
    Custom blown glass inserts for salts, ice buckets, etc.

    Glass/Crystal Restoration: Michael Bokrosh
    Michael Bokrosh Glass Sculpture Studio finds innovative ways to repair and restore your antique glass & glass art sculptures so that the collector can once again appreciate the beauty and design the original artist had intended. He specializes in Murano glass repair, as well as Waterford, Lalique, Daum, Kosta Boda, Orrefors, Stueben, and all contemporary glass artists. Bokrosh also creates his own glass sculptures using optical glass – some of the finest glass in the world.

    Horological Restoration: Memoria Technica
    Memoria Technica is owned and operated by Brittany Nicole Cox, also known as Nico. She is an Antiquarian Horologist, which is another way of saying “specialized mechanic”. More specifically, she is a clock- and watchmaker who specializes in the conservation and restoration of antique automata and mechanical music objects.
     
    Her lifelong passion for horology has seen her through nine years in higher education where she earned her WOSTEP, CW21, and SAWTA watchmaking certifications, two clockmaking certifications, and a Masters in the Conservation of Clocks and Related Dynamic Objects from West Dean College, UK. She opened Memoria Technica in 2015. Her original work has been shown at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York and she is currently working on a manuscript to be published by Penguin Press.

    Ivory Restoration: The Japanese Repository, Ron Fromkin
    Restoring ivory, horn, antler, bone, mother of pearl, and inlays in natural materials, and some limited tortoiseshell items with mostly man-made materials. Ron also does small ivory and wood carving of any type, small turning in ivory, bone, and wood. Beautiful chess set restoration.

    Japanese Sword Polishing & Restoration: Robert Benson
    Robert Benson is one of a small number of American experts on Japanese sword polishing. He studied sword polishing & appraisal under three top teachers, including Koke Ono, a " living treasure" in Japan and at that time was head sword polisher for the National Museum in Tokyo. In 1967, the Japanese recognized Benson as being the first non- Japanese to have studied sword polishing and first non-Japanese to have been honored by the National Museum with a certificate recognizing him as a polisher of distinction. Since then he has been restoring swords for both Japanese and American collectors.

    Jewelry Restoration: Hratch Babikian Studios
    Finding innovative ways to restore and repair antique and contemporary jewelry pieces so the owner may once again enjoy wearing the objects as they were originally intended. More than 35 years in the industry, Hratch pays close attention to every detail, from retipping stone setting prongs to replacing damaged areas to resizing rings. Also specializing in renovating and rehabbing heirloom jewelry into more modern works. PO Box 63573, Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215/465-9351, hratchbabikian@verizon.net

    Jewelry Restoration & Makeovers: Klaus Kutter, A Jour Jewelry
    Klaus is an award-winning, Swiss-trained master gold & platinum smith, designer, and gem-setter with over 30 years of hands-on experience on the bench in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and USA. 325 Metacom Ave., Bristol, RI 02809, 401/254-2565

    Mirror Restoration (Resilvering): Alchemy Mirror Resilvering
    Megan and Tom use the traditional pour method to resilver and finish with orange shellac as a sealer. Excellent work! 1768 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104, 651/641-1125.

    Music Box Restoration: Music Box Repair & Restoration
    Bob Caletti is a Mechanical Engineer and Craftsman with over 38 years of Antique Music Box repair and restoration experience.Old world craftsmanship is used to return Music Boxes to original condition. Complete restoration of Disc and Cylinder Music Box case and mechanism. Machine and Wood shop on premises quarantees that any missing or broken parts can be reproduced like originals. Bob Caletti, 605 Wallea Dr., Menlo Park, CA, 94025, 650/325-3898

    Paper Restoration & Conservation: McGannon Studios
    Offering complete museum quality conservation and restoration of paper artifacts. The wide array of works on paper that can be preserved include prints, drawings, watercolors, maps, pastels, historical and personal documents and paper memorabilia.

    Picture Frame Easels: Flech Paper Products, Inc.
    Makers of custom-made easels in various styles and materials for new and antique picture frames.

    Porcelain Restoration: Luel Restoration Studio
    Porcelain repair services for plates, sculpture, vases, and figurines. Bisque and porcelain dolls repaired.

    Silverplating: Roger Jette, Jr
    Beautiful silverplating and goldplating without using nickel. Also offers repairs, refinishing, and lacquering. I've been using Roger for years and have been very happy with the quality of his work. 38 Vine St., Franklin, MA  02038, 508/520-1493

    Textile Restoration: Frank Connet
    Conservation, restoration, and cleaning of historic, ethnographic, and heirloom textiles.

    Watch Case & Bracelet Restoration: Rolliworks
    Outstanding craftsmen with a laser welder.


Other Sites of Interest

American Silver Museum new
An online museum experience.  Multiple photographic techniques are employed to take a more granular look at this "mostly Meriden" and James W. Tufts collection of silver plated hollowware (circa 1850 - 1910).  Visitors can find links to the museum's YouTube channel to enjoy the photographs in their best format, or, click on the link to Pinterest or FaceBook to keep up-to-date with future online museum experiences.

    Christie's Guide to Collecting Silver
    Christie’s specialist Harry Williams-Bulkeley gives seven tips on collecting silver – from finding a show-stopping centrepiece to beating tarnish

    Chinese Silver
    A site dedicated to Chinese export silver.

    Styles of Antique Silver
    An excellent encyclopedia of styles from Queen Ann through Queen Victoria from London retailer I. Franks. You can search by time period, then object.

    Antique Georgian Silver Sugar Tongs
    Web-site dedicated to silver sugar tongs mainly covering the approximate period from 1760 to 1820 but also beyond into the early Victorian era.  Only sugar tongs that were made in the UK and Ireland are featured here although there were many other countries making sugar tongs during this period.

    Match Safes
    Nice collection of sterling match safes - primarily American and British.

    Restoration Terminology & Definitions
    Prepared by Professional Restorers International, this glossary has a wealth of information  pertaining to the restorers' field.

    Professional Restorers International
    The PRI website is a directory of professional restorers, refinishers, and conservators. Each PRI member has an informative page with outline of their services. Through a search of these member pages, a prospective client can find the appropriate person for their project.

    Coin Database
    Catalogues of Euro Coins and coins from the United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland and Germany with full mint details of size, dimensions, metal composition, mintages and full color pictures.

    American Numismatic Society
    An organization dedicated to the study of coins, currency, medals, tokens, and related objects from all cultures, past and present. The Society's headquarters in New York City has the foremost research collection and library specialized in numismatics in the United States. These resources are used to support research and education in numismatics, for the benefit of academic specialists, serious collectors, professional numismatists, and the interested public.

    Costume Jewelry Designers & Company Information
    Information on costume jewelry designers and the jewelry marks they used on their respective designs.

    Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry
    A great glossary on jewelry terms.

    American Numismatic Society
    The American Numismatic Society is a museum and research institute devoted to the study of coins from all periods and cultures.

    Barneby's Auctions
    Search for silver at auctions from around the globe.

    Feigon Hamilton
    A consulting and staffing firm comprised of a variety of professionals who synergistically offer their knowledge and experience in the art of private household service. They provide information and training that enables estates and households to work like an empowered organization that supports all of its participants: family, household staff and service providers.

    The International Institute of Modern Butlers
    Butlers and Household Managers have traditionally been responsible for looking after the silver (from the flatware to any silver art pieces) in the households they serve. As a consequence, the silversmith often maintained a close working relationship with butlers - and vice versa. That tradition continues to this day and I, too, am associated with the butler profession via the International Institute of Modern Butlers.

    The International Perfume Bottle Association
    A worldwide nonprofit organization of perfume bottle collectors & dealers with over 1,000 members in 20 countries. Membership includes a quarterly color magazine, an annual world-class convention focusing on education as well as sales, monthly e-mail news releases, a lending library of rare and out of print books, and more.

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