Antique spoons

[twisted]

i have some old spoons that i was wondering if anyone could help me identify. i know this board has alot of members with a vast knowledge of different things.

the spoons i have are either silver plated or 100% silver.a magnet does not stick to them. they have a hallmark that says blaic 18 and another i can not read even with a magnifying glass.

nice looking spoons.i was wondering if they are worth anything.

 

[666]

My mom digs old silverware, I will see if she has any info that may help.

 

[twisted]

My mom digs old silverware, I will see if she has any info that may help.

thanks !

 

[TattooKenny]

Isn't blaic 18 Stainless Steel spoons? Like 18/10, 18/20 ect.... Is it tarnished any?

 

[run2jeepn]

Not tarnished. Just burnt a little...

 

[twisted]

Isn't blaic 18 Stainless Steel spoons? Like 18/10, 18/20 ect.... Is it tarnished any?

they are tarnished. if they were steel a magnet would stick to them as it does to my modern utensils. i know some silver ware will be marked 9.25 or 925 but i read some are not. i can not find anything on blaic 18. maybe its a copper platted spoon ?

 

[twisted]

Not tarnished. Just burnt a little...

no i use spoons i know arent worth anything for that

 

[MadForce]

Depends on the age of the stuff you have at hand. The best silverware are made purely from silver (925) while lesser items are just plated silver (again 925) over a stainless backing. Even lesser quality items use lower purity silver like 900, 875, 845 etc.
The higher the purity of silver, either plating or full, the worse the "tarnishing" is. This "tarnishing" is actually air oxidizing on the surface of silver and goes away with a good silver polish and loads of rubbing.

It is highly unlikely the silverware you found, are pure silver unless they are dated way before the middle ages. Nowadays almost all silverware are made from alloys, usually SS, and then plated with silver. Value is determined by the platings thickness.

The only reason I can think off that they cannot be magnetized is that the alloy used as backing is pewter (alpaca in some places). This material was very common in most countries for at least 2 centuries due to the lack of real silver. This material was broadly used in the UK, in France, in Spain. In some cases pewter was also used as the plating material for cheaper units. Pewter does not seem to magnetize.

 

[TattooKenny]

And magnets won't stick to all stainless steel. 316L and 316LMV stainless like I pierce with won't.