Is silver plate hallmarked?

Mollywolly

Just looking for a bit of advice guys. I have a couple of pieces of silver that I am trying to get valued and was told that it could actually be silver plate.

It is marked with makers initials, the Harp and another mark that I can't make out - may be the symbol for Dublin city. I've tried to crop the picture so that you can see the marks below.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks.

Dr Strange

Mollywolly wrote: »

Just looking for a bit of advice guys. I have a couple of pieces of silver that I am trying to get valued and was told that it could actually be silver plate.

It is marked with makers initials, the Harp and another mark that I can't make out - may be the symbol for Dublin city. I've tried to crop the picture so that you can see the marks below.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks.

Hi,

I know that electroplated nickel silver carries the EPNS stamps sometimes. Not sure if other silver-plated material is marked in such a way.

Mollywolly

That's what I thought too. I think I'd better go and speak to a professional locally and get a second opinion.

coylemj

That looks like an Irish Sterling Silver hallmark. Try to get a better photo without using the flash and see if you can get a better focus.

Of the three little marks in a row, the first looks like an image of Hibernia which indicates it was hallmarked in the Dublin Assay Office, then a hard with a crown indicating sterling silver and the third mark is a letter which indicates the year, we need a closer look at that in order to date the item. My bet would be that's it's an 'A' and the style might match the mark for 1968.

It's not silver plate, it's solid silver.

Mollywolly

coylemj wrote: »

That looks like an Irish Sterling Silver hallmark. Try to get a better photo without using the flash and see if you can get a better focus.

Of the three little marks in a row, the first looks like an image of Hibernia which indicates it was hallmarked in the Dublin Assay Office, then a hard with a crown indicating sterling silver and the third mark is a letter which indicates the year, we need a closer look at that in order to date the item. My bet would be that's it's an 'A' and the style might match the mark for 1968.

It's not silver plate, it's solid silver.

Thank you so much - my days of watching daytime tv are starting to teach me something! I had a strong feeling it couldn't be plate because it felt more solid, if you know what I mean.

Truly appreciate your help, oh and BTW, the letter is actually a Q and I think is from the 1950's.

Wild_Dogger

Yes its definitely silver

Post up a pic and we'll give you a date

also, have a look at this page on makers marks.

Yours is the fifth one down ?

http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Dublin-MS.html

Mollywolly

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

Yes its definitely silver

Post up a pic and we'll give you a date

also, have a look at this page on makers marks.

Yours is the fifth one down ?

http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Dublin-MS.html

Yes. The maker's initials are MHG or M H Gill (Dublin). I've tried to make the image better (not easy) and it's attached below. The year date seems to be Q but I can't find any date marks after 1920 and I'm almost sure that this piece of silver isn't that old.

But if anyone has a link where I can look myself, I'd be very grateful

coylemj

It looks like the camera is having difficulty focusing on the silver, I suggest you cut out a small piece of newpaper containing something like a crossword (lots of black & white), lay it on the plate near the hallmark, then try it again.

Mollywolly

Seriously :eek: Does that eliminate the shine off the silver or something? It's worth giving it a try, so I'll get the OH to try again tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tip.

coylemj

Mollywolly wrote: »

Seriously :eek: Does that eliminate the shine off the silver or something? It's worth giving it a try, so I'll get the OH to try again tomorrow morning. Thanks for the tip.

The problem is not the shine, its that the camera isn't focusing properly. The hallmark and maker's mark are way out of focus. You're using a Canon EOS 500D so it's not that you have inferior equipment.

I suggest you do the following....

On the camera, disable the flash and disable digital zoom.

Place a cutout from a newspaper or any flat item with text or graphics on the silver close (but not too close) to the hallmark. Now position yourself with the camera and point the camera at the silver such that the camera is equidistant from the piece of paper and the hallmark. You're going to use the piece of paper to focus but you're actually going to photograph the hallmark and maker's mark.

Point the camera at the piece of paper, zoom in if necessary. Press the camera button to the first pressure, make sure the viewfinder shows that the camera is focussed on the piece of paper. Now (while keeping the button at first pressure) swing the camera so that the hallmark and maker's mark only are in the viewfinder and press the camera button all the way down.

You should now have a properly focussed shot of the hallmark and maker's mark.

Wild_Dogger

Or just post a pic of the full object.
You can usually tell the approx date from the shape and decoration or lack of.