Hi, I am new to the group and this is my first post. I am just curious if "sterling" on a piece of silverware makes it worth more than having the words "silver plate" or the letters "IS". I appreciate any help you can give me.
i would most certainly say that if the word sterling is on the silverware it has more value than silverplate and i am not an expert. if you do a search on silverplate and then a search on sterling you will see the difference in prices.
Hi! I'm a Motley Crue fan, too! I did some research on flatware recently. I got a great deal on a set of Rogers Silverplate at an auction & I needed more information before listing it. The ~IS~ stands for International Silverplate, as far as I know. I believe Sterling silver is real silver & silver plate is silver plated metal. I'm not an expert, but this is what I've found so far. I go to a weekly auction, and anytime there is Sterling silver, it goes for big bucks and it also sells at a higher price on eBay. I noticed on eBay some of the Gorham Sterling silver items in certain patterns really brings a high price. Best of luck buying or selling! ~*~
Hi! Yep, sterling is definitely worth more than silver plate. I am not an ecpert either, but have done some research over the last year. If a piece is marked "sterling" or "925" then it is 92.5% silver mixed with 7.5% of some other metal. It was determined long ago that that was the best ratio to give strength to the silver. Anything newer than 1900 or so will have stainless blades on knives and so on anyway, with only the handles being sterling. Silver-plate is exactly what it sounds like... A very thin layer of silver, plated over a base metal. The silver layer wears off very easily with use and polishing! So naturally it is not worth as much as solid sterling. An I, for one, don't buy SP anymore, unless it is a VERY cool pattern, in VERY good condition, and VERY inexpensive. Whew! Sorry to be so long-winded. But hope this helps. And have fun with it.
)
)
)
