Silver Spoon Antiques

Silver from the Colonies... The British Empire sprung from overseas possessions and trading posts set-up by England from the end of the 16th century.  Although it was in the early 20th century that it was at its peak, it began being referred to as the British Empire in the nineteenth century.   A map showing the British Empire in 1886 Although the bulk of sterling silver items were made in the United Kingdom and exported to the colonies, wherever there were significant populations, gold and silversmiths were there working.  Items produced by these local silversmiths are known as 'British Colonial Silver'.   The most common (and most researched) places that British colonial silver will turn up from are India, Canada, South Africa and Australia.  Each of these have some great reference books available (let me know if you are interested in any of these, as I often have copies for sale).   An impressive piece made by Wendt, Australia (Image: Lawsons Auctio

A question often asked is ' How much is this item worth? ' or ' What value would you put on this piece?'  Indeed the climaxes on Antiques Roadshow are when values are announced, either elating the owner with a high valuer or disappointing others with a low one.  The hard thing when it comes to valuing an item is there is actually a number of values a single item can have.  Here is a list of some different types of values, from lowest to highest: Wholesale - This is the price a dealer would pay.  This value has to include room for a decent mark-up for the dealer, often 100% (this covers other overheads as well as some profit) Auction - Auctions are where the dealers and customers meet, often cheaper than retail, there is always the exception when two bidders decide they both want an item! Retail - often at least triple the wholesale price, this is because only does a dealer need to make a living, they also need to pay for other costs such as utilities, insurance,

The most desired of the Caddy Spoons! Caddy spoons, originally used for scooping tea out of Tea Caddies, are a popular collecting area in silver.  (For an earlier post about caddy spoons, click here - Caddy Spoons ).  Among the rarest and most collectable of the caddy spoons is a stunning one called the Eagle's Wing Caddy Spoon.  The spoon was first made in Birmingham by Joseph Willmore and Matthew Linwood around 1815-40.  It was produced again by George Unite around 1865.  It has also been reproduced a number of times since then in the twentieth century. This is one of the originals, made by Joseph Willmore. This was sold by Bonhams in 2005 for £2,400!  What do you think?  Is it worth all the fuss?