Silver is one of the easiest antiques to misjudge. A heavy, shiny teapot can be solid sterling worth a good sum for its metal alone, or electroplate worth very little. The difference is usually stamped right on the piece, if you know how to read it. This guide explains the common marks and a few simple checks you can do at home.
Solid silver vs silver plate
Solid silver objects are made from a silver alloy all the way through. Pure silver is too soft for everyday use, so it's mixed with a small amount of another metal, usually copper.
Silver plate is a base metal, such as copper, brass or nickel silver, covered with a thin layer of silver. It looks similar when new, but the silver layer is very thin, so the metal value is negligible.
Sterling silver
Sterling silver is 92.5% silver. You'll usually see one of these marks:
- "STERLING" or "STER.", the standard mark on American silver and much British Commonwealth silver.
- "925", the numerical mark used on sterling silver around the world.
- British hallmarks (see below), which certify sterling without using the word.
American makers adopted the sterling standard widely from the mid-19th century, with Tiffany & Co. among the early adopters.
Coin silver
Before sterling became the norm in the United States, much American silver was coin silver, generally around 90% silver. It is often marked "COIN", "PURE COIN", "DOLLAR", or "STANDARD", or carries only a maker's name. Coin silver is collected in its own right, particularly early pieces by known regional silversmiths.
British hallmarks
Britain has one of the oldest and most systematic hallmarking systems in the world. Silver had to be tested and stamped at an official assay office. A full set of traditional British hallmarks usually includes:
| Mark | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Lion passant (a walking lion) | The silver meets the sterling standard. In Scotland, a thistle or a lion rampant was used instead at times |
| Town mark | Which assay office tested it, such as a leopard's head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a crown for Sheffield (a rose since 1975), a castle for Edinburgh |
| Date letter | The year of assay. Each office used a cycle of letters, changing the font and shield shape each cycle |
| Maker's mark | Initials of the maker or sponsor, usually in a shaped outline |
| Sovereign's head | A duty mark showing tax had been paid, used from 1784 to 1890 |
Reading the date letter requires a chart, because the same letter appears in different cycles. You need the town mark, the letter, its font and the shape of the shield around it. Published hallmark guides and online date charts make this straightforward.
Other British marks you may see include Britannia (a seated female figure), which indicates the higher Britannia standard of 95.8% silver, and "925" alongside or in place of the lion on modern pieces.
Continental European standards
Much European silver used lower silver contents than sterling. These are still solid silver, just a different alloy. Common marks include:
- 800: 80% silver, very common on German and other continental silver. German silver from 1888 onward often pairs "800" with a crescent moon and crown.
- 830: common on Scandinavian silver.
- 835: used in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and elsewhere.
- 84: a Russian mark based on zolotniki, equal to about 87.5% silver.
- Minerva head: the French guarantee mark from 1838, showing the head of the goddess Minerva, with a number indicating the standard.
Plate marks
Silver-plated items often carry marks designed to look official. These are the ones most often mistaken for sterling:
- EPNS: electroplated nickel silver. The base is nickel silver, plated with silver.
- EP: electroplated.
- EPBM: electroplated Britannia metal, a pewter-like base. Note that "Britannia metal" is not the same as Britannia standard silver.
- EPC: electroplated copper.
- A1, AA, "Quadruple plate" and similar: grading terms describing the thickness of plating, not the silver content of the object.
- Brand names with dates: "1847 Rogers Bros." is a silver-plate brand name. The date refers to the company's founding history, not the year the item was made.
Some plate makers used small symbol marks in a row that resemble British hallmarks at a glance. If the "hallmarks" sit next to letters like EPNS, the piece is plate.
Old Sheffield plate
Sheffield plate is a different technique: a sheet of silver fused to copper and then worked into shape. It was made from the mid-18th century until electroplating replaced it in the mid-19th century. Genuine Old Sheffield Plate is collectible, but it is still plate. Don't confuse it with sterling made in Sheffield, which carries the Sheffield town mark and a lion passant.
Nickel silver
Nickel silver, also called German silver, contains no silver at all. It's an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that happens to look silvery. It's often used as the base for plated wares.
Simple checks at home
You can rule some things in or out without special equipment:
- Look for marks first. Check the base, the back of handles and the underside of flatware stems with a magnifier.
- Try a magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If a strong magnet sticks firmly, the object is not solid silver, though it may be plated steel. Passing the test doesn't prove it's silver, because brass, copper and many other metals are not magnetic either.
- Look for wear through. On plated pieces, high points and edges often wear to show the base metal: a pinkish copper, yellowish brass, or a greyer metal. Solid silver wears but stays the same colour throughout.
- Consider the weight and feel. This is a weak clue on its own, but experience helps.
For a definite answer, a jeweller or bullion dealer can test the metal, often with an acid test or an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyser. Don't use acid test kits on a valuable piece yourself, since they require scratching or marking the surface.
Why melt value matters
Sterling silver has a baseline value set by its metal content, which rises and falls with the silver market. To estimate it, weigh the object, convert to troy ounces, multiply by 0.925 for sterling, then by the current silver price. Dealers buying scrap will pay less than this.
Be careful with two things:
- Weighted and filled pieces. Candlesticks are often "weighted" with a filler, and knife handles are often hollow and filled. Only the silver part counts.
- Collector value. Many antique silver pieces are worth more as objects than as metal, because of the maker, age, design or rarity. Never sell a piece for scrap until you've checked whether it has collector value.
Tip: Photograph the marks in a straight line, in focus, with the date letter clearly visible. AI Antique can suggest what the piece is, its likely origin and period, and an estimated price range, which helps you decide whether it's worth taking to a silver specialist.
Silver plate is rarely valuable for its metal, but some decorative or designer plated pieces do sell well. As with anything, check recent sold prices: our guide on how much your antique is worth explains how. For a valuable piece, a specialist silver dealer, auction house or accredited appraiser can confirm both the marks and the value. Not sure if a piece is genuinely old? See antique, vintage or reproduction.