Collecting Antiques – How to Find Valuable Silverware

Collecting antique silverware is an excellent choice if you want your collection efforts to be valuable to yourself or your heirs in the future. The best thing about it, to me, is that it is a collection that you can actually put to use instead of just having it sitting on a shelf somewhere to be admired.

Choosing a Pattern to Collect

When collecting silver, it is best to educate yourself. You need to know how to tell if the flatware of your choice is sterling silver or silver-plated, how much silver it contains, the era in which the flatware was produced, and the authenticity of your selections.

Both sterling silver and silver-plated patterns have value. Rare items may be more valuable, although it may be difficult to find matching pieces to make up a whole set of flatware, if using it for serving is your intention. If a matching set is not your concern, feel free to mix and match patterns. The value of the pieces in a collection may be more important if you choose to sell your collected items from time to time.

Consulting an identification and value guide will help you to choose patterns that are worth collecting. It will teach you how to understand silver markings so you will know what you are investing in.

Things to Beware Of

Authenticity is important when it to comes antiques. There are a lot of forgeries that exist for the sole purpose of taking advantage of antique collectors. Also, alterations or modifications can decrease the worth of piece. For instance, if knife blades are replaced it is possible that the silverware will not be worth as much as it was in its original state.

Wear and tear does not necessarily decrease the value of a piece, although damage may detract from the resale price. A silversmith can repair mild damage to restore an antique item and most likely it will retain the value if it is done properly without alternating the original design.

Tarnished silver can be polished to bring out the beauty of piece. However, buying tarnished pieces is something to beware of because the tarnish is likely to make signs of damage to be less noticeable. It makes sense to inspect the pieces thoroughly before paying a good price for it to ensure that the piece is not damaged beyond repair.

Taking Care of Your Silver

For many collectors, polishing silver is a headache. It really doesn’t have to be. Cleaning silver can be easy if you have the right tools and use preferable techniques.

First, you must rinse the pieces in warm water to remove dust. Then, using a good silver cream, you apply it to the pieces using the instructions that came along with the cream. It always helps to apply the cream when the silverware is warm from the rinsing. After applying the cream and polishing the piece, it is important to rinse the piece right away and dry it thoroughly using a soft cloth to prevent water stains. I suggest polishing a few pieces at a time, rather than taking on a whole set of silverware. The more frequently you wash it, the less polishing it will require.

Collecting antique silverware can be a great experience. Once you learn about silver and silver marks choosing valuable pieces becomes a breeze.

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