I have discussed opportunities for intelligent eBay sellers in the growing investor market for antique and collectible silver. The variety of markings on these products can be misleading but often results from the list below. It can be assured that at least 30% of the 12–15–15,000 weekly lists in the ‘000 Antiques-Sterling’ section will contain accurate or misleading details. As a result buyer confusion and uncertainty lead to poor selling prices, problems with sales, and seller credibility.
In this article, Iberians will learn how to identify and understand the various signs and where to study them. Sellers with this background can write professional descriptions in their eBay auctions, eBay stores, and other places of sale. Correct identification and listing of silver items give sellers the credibility and edge of hundreds of anonymous sellers in this competitive market.
Amazon CoinsThink of it this way - if someone was going to enter the car sales business, should they know as much as possible about its design, model, engine, performance, etc.? The same applies to selling silver items. The symbols refer to the story behind the piece i.e. the creator, age, source, history, quality, pattern, etc.
Silver Signs Identification and Decision Making - The list below provides several basics for learning many signs and types of metals. Many great reference books are available for both beginners and experts for further research and teaching. I have provided a shortlist of recommended books at the end of the article. Realize that many reference books are narrow in their field, for example, for a specific period, country, etc. For this reason, only one or two books should be purchased that are under a wide footprint from many manufacturers and countries She comes. Experience can be gained from cataloging and selling silver, as well as building a good reference library. There are many great websites for online research that are contributed and used by collectors and traders worldwide. I have created a link to the best sites at the bottom of the article. Professional assessment and evaluation are also available for those who want a quality list but do not want research points.
People who are starting to sell silver should be very careful so that the signal is not misinterpreted. As mentioned above, a third of eBay sellers incorrectly list items because they have learned only enough information about signs of being dangerous. Often these deformed sellers think their item has a lion, crown, or anchor mark when it is English sterling when in a true sense it is a silver plate with a pseudo mark. Today I saw an auction of a new vendor creamer and sugar bowl, which he listed as an English sterling manufactured in 1903. It was the American Silverplate Circuit 1877–1880. He thinks that the pattern number, 1903, the date of its manufacture, and the trademark lion mean English sterling. This is one of many examples that make a seller look bad and limit their opportunities for a profitable sale.
Use Wisdom as Selling Points - After searching for symbols on merchandise correctly, a person can correctly title and describe the list. Items can be guaranteed as claimed because the seller has sufficient confidence to do so. This gives credibility to sellers and traders that will attract smart investors and collectors to auction. This will result in stronger bid action and higher selling prices.
Use appropriately marked symbols for search optimization - for example, a vendor identifies a piece as Danish and is created by George Jensen Circa 1909–1914. This information will be magnetic for high-end collectors if the title and description of the auction are used in the keywords. This turns into huge profits. Which of these two titles works best? "Antique Silver Bowl with Hallmark" or "Beautiful George Jensen Art Nouveau Sterling Centerpiece c. 909–1914". The other one of course. It is using strategic keywords in the title that give life to the list.
Okay, so what to learn? There are many. Below is just a shortlist, but with this base as an expert silver trader in eBay and other places can build their developed path to success.
You must know:
Hallmark - Almost every eBay seller gets it wrong. Specific to precious metals, a hallmark is defined as a hit mark or a continuous mark on a metal that formally certifies the purity of the metal (purity or material) and that is guaranteed internationally for its purity Is recognized as eBay sellers often confuse the Holocaust with manufacturer's logos, logos, company trademarks, and common number marks such as 925 or 835. Although these national numbers are used to mark purity or content, they will never be considered hallmarks unless they are accompanied by an official unless the country of origin is a price mark. Why? Because anyone can hit these numbers in metal without official personnel through this fraud. Hallmark is the official mark of guaranteed metal purity on precious metal objects. Trademarks and manufacturer's marks are only manufacturer's item marks. It looks like a sack that attaches to the drawstring. If a ring says Cartier 18K, the hallmark is 18K, the manufacturer's name is not Cartier. This guarantees that the purity of Ring Gold is 75% and is recognized worldwide. Silver hallmarks work in the same way, much more than gold.
Country signs - Almost every country requires an official nationalized mark or symbol to be used as a hallmark for its precious metal values. The Lion Passant, used since the 14th century as a guarantee of England's sterling, is perhaps the most famous of all. There are many more country symbols to list here but you can research them on the online reference sites listed at the end of this article.
City Mark - Items were created in many countries to mark cities. The cheetah head represents London and the anchor representing Birmingham is the two most familiar and most commonly seen on eBay. There are many more to list again but they can be refined in the reference guide listed below.
Maker's Marks - These are registered names, initials, trademarks, logos, brands, symbols, or other symbols that Silversmith and construction companies have used for centuries to identify their products. There are hundreds of these worldwide. You usually kill them or print them in an imperfect place on a hill and find other markings.
Date signs - also known as date codes, are the use of unique symbols, letters, letters, or years of production by some well-known manufacturers as a means of dating. These are listed and many items are very useful for dating properly. Unfortunately, many companies do not use date marks which makes accurate dating of their work impossible.
Pseudo Marks - These emblems were created by silversmiths to mimic the famous and long-established British sterling hallmark. These smileys generally make silverplate items and silver objects more transparent than sterling. The signs were designed to understand the sterling quality concept about his work for the value and fame of British sterling. This does not mean that they all practiced imagination, although some did. Many pseudos are legally registered trademarks of reputable companies that produce sterling, coins, and silverware. For example, Gorham, a highly regarded American sterling and silverplate manufacturer associate the Birmingham anchor mark with his maker's mark. Most of the nineteenth century Chinese exported silver also has pseudonyms on some high quality 800 and 835 standard marked products. Pseudonyms are often mistaken for British sterling hallmarks, so buyers and sellers need to be able to identify them. This is one of the main reasons why successful sales research is so important.
Pattern Numbers - These are proprietary numbers often found with hallmarks and manufacturer's markings. These are used by the manufacturer for patent registration, pattern recognition, and inventory control.
Sterling - Sterling is defined in the United States (see * below) and in most other countries as a mixture of at least 92.5% pure silver. The other metal in the mine is copper which reinforces the metal to be used and is ornamental in decorative things. The term sterling comes from 14th century England. Sterling Standard in Great Britain and has since been fined 92.5% (925).
925, 0.925, or 925/1000 - This number is often found stamped on silver objects. It represents sterling when it conforms to the official standard hallmark of the country of origin. The presence of this number on an item does not guarantee sterling unless an official country hallmark is present.
"Sealed Silver" - It is defined by the US government (see * below) as a mixture of at least 92.5% pure silver which means it must be sterling. It is illegal in the United States to represent a product that is not sterling silver.
"Coin Silver" - 18th and 19th-century American silversmiths got their name from this item, who melted silver coins to sell items. Common items were silverware and other table service items. The US government has defined it as a mixture of 90% (900) purity (see * below).
Continental Sterling - A misleading term used by people selling European-made goods with a purity value of less than 92.5%. Similar terms are Russian Sterling, German Sterling, French Sterling, etc., all marked as official national standards, with less than 925 Continental Silver being the correct way to describe European products if official hallmarks and assay Signs are present.
Silver Standard - Values in the United States are authentic (.9999%), sterling and coins (see * below). Standards in the United States are Britannia (95.8% purity) and Sterling. Britannia was used exclusively in Britain from 1697 to 1720 and has been used since. Other countries have their own set of official standards. Generally, however, without exception these 950, 935, 925, 900, 875, 850, 835, 812, 800, 750, and 675 purity are determined by official asses. These numbers represent the decimal fraction (percentage) of silver content in the product produced. For example, an item marked '800' is 80% authentic. 950 and 935 may be legally referred to as sterling in the United States, regardless of country of origin, but lower standards cannot do so. The 950 is sometimes referred to as Martel Silver. Note: In the United States, importing, selling, labeling, advertising, or otherwise presenting an item as "sterling" or "hard silver" is a federal offense with an accuracy of 92.5% or more (see * below).
Carcass number - This was a numerical method used in the 18th and 19th centuries to approve official use in Austria-Hungary and Germany-Prussia. It is based on an accuracy of 16/16. So that 15/16 equals 15 sticks equals 37. The oldest silver in these countries listed on eBay is of 13 logs and, as noted above, it is often misrepresented as German sterling. Austria-Hungary used this system until 1866, Germany-Prussia, and until 1886.
Zolotnik Number - These numbers are found in Russian silverware dating back many centuries. At the heart of this system was Russia's gold trade, which began in the 11th century. Plenty of antique Russian items are auctioned on eBay and other places, so it is important to know some basics. The number is based on being authentic 96/96. The best-selling on eBay is 84 Zolotnik or 84/96 which equals 875 (87.5%) purity. 88 zolotnik 88/96 or 916 purity etc. A common problem with the number 74 is that the Russian 74 makes certain French silverplate mistakes for zolotnik. One way to tell the difference is that the French silverplate symbol will have an or gr 'or' g 'after 84 which represents the gram silver used in the metallurgical process. Also, Russian 84 Zolotnik will always have one or more official symbols and a creator symbol in Russian Cyrillic characters. If an item is claimed to be Russian and appears at number 84, consider it a duplicate or plate.
Silverplate - It is a very thin layer or coating of pure silver on a base metal. The most common base metals are copper, brass, nickel-silver, white metal, and Britannia metal (see below). The two types of silver plates are the Sheffield plate and the electroplate. Sheffield got its name from Sheffield, England, where it originated. The technique used was the 'sandwiching' of a layer of base metal between the upper and lower layers of pure silver. The metals are fastened or rolled until both metals are bonded. Thus the base metal was 'plated' and could then be used for manufacturing. Electroplating was invented in 1805 but did not become popular until 1840. It is an electronic process by which silver molecules are deposited on the surface of a sheet of base metal until the desired coating or thickness is achieved. Because electroplating is fast and not labor-intensive, the Sheffield Plate system was destroyed in about 1860. Almost all plating today is valued by collectors due to its superior handwriting quality and antiquity to the Sheffield Plate. The electroplate/silverplate has various quality grades. These are based on the thickness of the blade resulting from the amount of silver used. The two most common types of Victorian silver plates are the triple plate and the quadrangular plate. You will find many of these at auction on eBay. The main thing to know about silverplate is that it has no significant silver weight, so there is no precious metal value in it. The market for silver plated items is based only on rarity, uniqueness, antique qualities, craftsmanship, and design qualities.
Sterling Silverplate - No such thing! This description is often used by eBay sellers who know nothing about silver or who are spamming keywords to increase clicks on the list. Because sterling is an alloy, it is inappropriate to use it as a source of silver for plating.
EPNS - You will see that these letters mark the bottom of many old American and British silverware. This means an electro-plated nickel-silver. Many novice eBay sellers and those who do not mistake doing any research are e. P. N. List the item as sterling. Common variants are EP, EPC. (Electronic plate in copper), EPWM. (Electronic plate in white metal), EPB. Or EPBM. (Electronic plate in Britannia metal). Just keep in mind that none of the items have a silverplate with EP and no precious metal value.
Nickel-Silver - This is a common base metal alloy consisting of nickel, copper, and zinc. It does not contain silver. The name was coined because the metal makes it silver and shiny. Other names used for the same metal are Alpaca or Alpaca Silver; Brazilian Silver; German Silver; Peruvian Silver; New York Silver; New silver; Nevada Silver; Norwegian Silver; Silverite; Venetian Silver; Potosi Silver; And Sonora Silver announced the names of just a few. Many people are buying old German Silver Ladies purses thinking they are of real value. Nickel-silver is strong and durable but has no metal value.
White Metal - It is a silver-colored alloy that usually contains a mixture of antimony, tin, lead, zinc, and cadmium. The term 'white metal' has been used for the British art trade in the United States to describe all foreign objects that did not bear the official mark of the British Ass Office on them.
Britannia Metal - Another non-silver base metal that is similar to Pewter which is popular because it is durable and shines like silver. It is a mixture of 93% tin, 5% antimony, and 2% copper.
Hundreds of familiar symbols and their meanings are complex and often confusing. The information you find in this article represents several symbols that you need to increase your understanding of. Along the edge of your competition, you can now build on these basics to become an informed buyer and reseller.
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