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Silver tea seats are a popular gift and heirloom, and they can become a set piece in your home. But they also need to be polished, cared for, and carefully stored. That also goes for sets of silver flatware, pitchers, bowls, and other accessories made from silver. They can be a lot more maintenance than busy families are willing to take on, well-intentioned though the gift may have been.
They’re not to everyone’s taste, and if you decide you would prefer to sell them, you should know how to cash in on silver for the best possible price.
Today, there’s a large market for precious metals and plenty of businesses that will buy your silver tea sets, flatware, coins, and jewellery. But not all of them will offer top dollar for your heirlooms and antiques.
Muzeum wants you to get the most value for your silver. We are more than just silver buyers; we are also the storefront location of the Great Canadian Roadshow. We have a passion for antiques, heirlooms, and vintage pieces of all kinds. We make sure you get the best price for your silver, gold, and antiques.
There are several criteria that go into the value of a silver tea set. There are some aspects that you should be able to find out on your own if you know how to look, and others that you can learn from an evaluation by an expert. When customers bring their silver to Muzeum, they get free silver evaluations so that they know the value of their items.
Whether your set is made out of sterling silver or silverplate has a significant influence on its value. Sterling silver has a composition of 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper alloy. It’s a common composition for silver items like tea seats and flatware because pure silver, which you can usually find in coins, is too soft and malleable for objects that may get used around the house.
The qualities of Sterling silver include:
Silverplate is a thin layer of silver that coats other metals, giving an object the look and appeal of silver, even though it’s made from cheaper materials. Not only will silverplate fetch a lower price, but it can also chip off after some time.
You can tell the difference by looking at the stamp on your set. Silverplate will have an engraved stamp that reads EPNS or EN, while Sterling silver should say 92.5 or 925, which refers to the percent of silver used in the composition of the metal.
Once you’ve identified the silver content of your set, the next question is the value of silver when you’re ready to sell.
The silver price that you pay or receive when you sell is based on what’s called the spot price. This is the price you will find when you look prices up on the stock market. The price is determined by trading that goes on globally. The largest physical silver market is in London, but a great deal of speculation also happens on futures markets. In futures markets like COMEX in New York, contracts for the future delivery of silver are traded, although the metal rarely ever trades hands in the real world.
Because these contracts total hundreds of millions of ounces daily, they do not consider the real costs that everyday consumers and bullion dealers deal with to handle physical bullion products. However, the spot price is the basis for the rates Muzeum pays, and it should be reflected in the price you get from any bullion dealer if you get a fair offer.
At Muzeum, we post our rates for silver and gold publicly and they update alongside the stock market. We want customers to know what to expect when they come to us, and up-to-date prices for precious metals are among the easiest ways to keep them informed. We post silver rates by common purities and by the ounce or gram.
An antique can change the value of what you have if there is a collectors market for it. This goes beyond the silver content and largely depends on what buyers are willing to pay for a piece. Collectors are looking for timeless heirlooms, quality craftsmanship, and design trends and styles that they love.
Silver teapots and sets have been made since the 1700s. Their designs may have been based on the elaborate Islamic coffee pots that were found in European coffee houses at the time. While they were initially made strictly from clay or porcelain, the silver teapot appeared in the mid-1700s and quickly grew in popularity. Not only were silver tea sets durable, beautiful, and practical works of art, but they were also a store of value themselves.
Much of the joy of collecting comes from finding pieces that fit their personal taste, but there are particular qualities to look for that can help you determine whether or not it may find the right buyer in the collectors market.
Value is all found in the details when it comes to antiques. They’re the qualities that attract a particular buyer who falls in love with the piece, but there are some universal qualities that will help determine whether the piece has collectible value or not:
The long history of silver tea sets means that they’ve gone through a wealth of design trends through the years. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, major design trends that influenced art, architecture, and interior design also made their mark on tea sets.
You can find antique tea sets that have been influenced by Gothic, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Victorian design trends. If you’re hoping to identify the design styles that went into your tea set, it can help to learn when the set was manufactured and see if there are any major characteristics that align with the design trends of the type. For example, Art Nouveau is notable for its dramatically curved lines and flowing floral motifs.
In metalwork, chasing is a technique used to raise the height of a surface design to create a relief. It’s accomplished by hammering and pushing the metal to depress part of the surface and raise another.
Hand chasing can turn a regular teapot into a work of art, and such craftsmanship can greatly increase the value of your set.
Figural elements are design features that come off the surface and into three dimensions. For example, they may be three-dimensional flora, fauna, or even people. Popularized in the Art Nouveau and the late Victorian era, these figural elements can be easily broken and damaged, so handle with care if you have one that features such unique qualities.
When the subject of antiques comes up, it’s impossible not to mention patina. Patina is a toned or darkened surface that naturally forms over decades and centuries. Almost all surfaces acquire a patina eventually, including wood, paper, stone, and metals like silver.
Patina varies widely from one piece to another, and it can create a unique appeal to your silver tea set. Antique collectors like patinas because they’re an immediate indicator of the piece’s age and authenticity. Patina is remarkably difficult to fake, and alterations to a piece will likewise alter the patina.
When you bring silver items to Muzeum, our experts know what to look for and will share with you everything they find. We value transparency and want to make sure our customers know what they have and what they’re selling.
Damage to a silver tea set can negatively impact its value, especially if it’s an antique. Properly preserving and storing tea sets will prevent any loss of value. These tips will make sure you’re not putting the value of your set at risk:
With some basic storage and maintenance tips, you can make sure your silver tea set retains its value.
At Muzeum, we have the solution for unwanted silver items. We offer top prices for silver tea sets, flatware, jewellery, and coins. A silver tea set can be a lot of maintenance and take up a lot of space, and they’re not for everyone. Whatever your reason for wanting to sell your silver, we will provide a transparent evaluation and pay top prices for the silver. We also love finding antiques, and we work with a broad network of collectors to find the perfect homes for intriguing pieces.
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