Silver Spoon Antiques

A nice silver spoon turned up recently on a trip to regional NSW.  The dealer wasn't sure if it was silver, indeed the hallmarks were so small, I couldn't decipher them either.  But what did stand out was the impressive Celtic design to the spoon and the marks I could read that said 'AR' and 'IONA'.  I remembered reading a little somewhere about a silversmith, Alexander Richie, working on the Scottish island.  So I purchased the spoon (along with a few other pieces of silver) for a good price. A Jam Spoon by Alexander Richie of Iona, Scotland It turned out this spoon was indeed silver and had been hallmarked in Glasgow in 1931. Hallmarks and Engraving of Richie Spoon Alexander Richie, along with his wife, Euphemia, began making silverware and jewellery (as well as wood and other metal work) at the end of the nineteenth century.  He sent items from Iona to both Glasgow and Chester to be hallmarked.  Most of his pieces have the Celtic or Viking influe

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,