#1 Sterling Silver Spoons Buyer Las Vegas & Henderson

In regular English language, silver spoon connotes wealth. As many people use it to refer people who are born with wealth or privilege, especially those who have inherited their wealth from ancestors. It is said to be categorized in English idioms, “born with a silver spoon in their mouth” which means they are rich from the date of birth. It could also be used to describe someone with a successful background or a well off family. Despite that, this expression is often used to have a negative meaning which implies that the person being called does is not appreciative of what they possess since it was given and not hard-earned.

Why is the idiomatic expression connected to silver spoons?

Even before the table setting became famous in 1700, people living in the era practiced bringing their own spoons when they attend the dining table. The same manner as to how we casually bring wallets and keys. During those times, owning silver spoons indicates that the owner is someone from the upper social class which is usually comprised of people who own lands.

During the Middle Ages, farmers and craftsmen work harder and this often leads to getting dirty fingernails. Afraid of getting mistaken as serfdom or escaped slaves, they started to iterate the use of silver spoons. The silver spoon became equivalent to a cultural license. Since most of the landowning people were farmers and craftsmen, the use of silver spoon became a social marker for lower-middle-class people which we now classify as families who lived comfortably.

In those times, silver holds the power to identify directly what social standing you held in society. As important as it is in the past years, silver spoons still holds value and meaning in present times. Spoons are the oldest flatware ever used with many different designs and have been used ever since Ancient Rome. Spoons were also used as a present in the baptisms of wealthy groups. The practice of bringing own spoon somehow originated in this time as well, when inns do not own such expensive silverware – the spoon is just one of them. Innkeepers obliged their well-placed guests to supply their own spoon.

That was when the idiomatic expression “born with a silver spoon in their mouth” started to circulate. Widely used to identify one’s socio-economic status.

Sterling Silver Spoon Identification

Nowadays, you can see that most metals made of silver have marks like “925”, “92.5” or “sterling silver.” Those marks mean that the silverware contains only 92.5% silver. Why not 100% silver? Silver is a very soft kind of metal which made it not durable enough to stand long term usage. That is the reason why it was mixed with other metals to make the product more durable. Also, silver is known to have properties that could fight bacteria build-up, ending to be the widely used metal in utensils and such.

Sterling silver spoons and other sterling silver items are composed of 92.5 percent silver plus 7.5 percent copper and other trace elements that would make the material long-lasting without compromising its quality and luster. This standard distribution of metal started in the 13th century in England and it was even strengthened when King Edward the 1st ruled that all sterling silver materials should bear a hallmark for fraud prevention.

Hundreds of years later, with the development of electroplating, this standard has become more highly significant. Electroplating is a way of producing sterling silver material with lesser silvers in them but would still look sturdy. By the time when spoons and other utensils were in mass production, the silver demand has increased. The sterling silver standard was still closely observed and this is still followed by Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in England until today.

Different types of sterling silver spoons

Spoons were the very first kind of utensil introduced in the table. But in the middle of the 19th century, knives and forks were used together with spoons. The oldest spoon to have survived is the Apostle Spoon which emerged in the 15th century. An Apostle spoon is often sold in sets of 13 pieces. What makes it unique is the carved figure in the handle of each spoon. The first twelve represent the Apostles and the larger one represents Jesus Christ. This spoon is considered to be antique and now it has become a part of christening as a traditional gift.

Another type that emerged was the teaspoon. It was designed to help tea drinkers take out floating leaves from their teacups. The measurement was exactly a quarter of a tablespoon. As the price for tea became more affordable, the production of teaspoons has increased as well. The trend of modifying spoons and drinking tea inspired other designs. Like the caddy spoon which has a wider scoop that is designed to pour dry tea leaves, and the mote spoon which has holes on the scoop that can be used to strain tea leaves. One more is the trefid spoons which had a narrow egg-shaped scoop with carved floral handles. Many more names and types emerged those years and this mass production was led by William Darby of Sheffield, England.

Identifying value

Antique spoons that are only used for commemorative purposes would essentially hold great value. Unlike the silver-plated spoons which are the commonly seen kind since they are used in tableware in hotels and restaurants. Silver-plated spoons do not really hold that much value, contrasting to those that are sterling silvers. Popular brands like Tiffany & Co. and Georg Jensen also produce silver spoons along with their other products and are often high priced, especially if they are part of a boxed set with the original packaging.

Sterling silver spoons that are for souvenir purposes holds a great value. The price usually ranges from $5 up to $2500, and if you are fortunate enough, it could be higher than that. Now, the silver property is not the only factor for it to sell. The majority of the sterling silver spoons are bought for about $30 to $60. Only those rare designs and in an extremely fine condition could be sold for at least $100, and extremely rare spoons are worth at least $300. Moreover, the spoons should bear the sterling silver hallmark, if not, it will be categorized as silver-plated spoons which can only give you around $1 to $15.

Furthermore, factors like where the spoons were manufactured and how preserved it is. Even though the spoon is a family heirloom, this will not help you get the price higher. The way you preserved the quality of the spoon over time is what matters. The number of years passed since it was made. Lastly, the place where it was struck. The most valuable sterling silver spoons are those that hold a part in history like it was the first spoon ever made, it was the spoon of the first ruler, and such. In the end, it would be a great help to try and research the history of the sterling silver spoon in possession.

 

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_spoon#:~:text=The%20English%20language%20expression%20silver,silver%20spoon%20in%20their%20mouth%22.

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/silver/spoons

https://spoonplanet.com/value.html#:~:text=Sterling%20silver%20souvenir%20spoons%20range,would%20sell%20for%20under%20%2460.