Antique Silver Spoons: How to Identify, Date, Care for and Sell Them

Turn the spoon over and look at the back of the stem. A British hallmark with a lion passant, an assay office mark and a date letter means solid sterling silver. 925 or Sterling means sterling made abroad. EPNS, A1, EP or a maker's name alone, such as Wm Rogers, mean silver plate.

Yes. Every sterling silver spoon has a silver value, and many are worth more: Georgian spoons, apostle spoons, spoons by known makers, provincial and Scottish marks, and complete matching sets are collected. Worn or odd modern teaspoons are usually bought for their silver. Send photos of the marks for a free valuation.

No. British silver spoons are usually sterling, 92.5% silver with copper to make them strong enough to use, and a few are Britannia silver, 95.8%. Pure silver would bend too easily. Continental spoons may be 800 or 835 silver, and silver plated spoons are base metal with a thin silver coating.

Read the date letter in the hallmark: each assay office changed its letter every year and its style every cycle. The shape helps too. Rat-tail and Hanoverian spoons date from the early 18th century, Old English from the mid 18th century, and Fiddle and King's patterns from the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Apostle spoons have a figure of one of the twelve apostles, or Christ, on the end of the handle. They were made in England from the 15th to the 17th century and were a traditional christening gift from godparents. Early hallmarked examples are rare and collected; Victorian and later copies are far more common.

Berry spoons are older Georgian silver spoons that the Victorians embossed with fruit and flowers and often gilded inside the bowl, so the hallmark is older than the decoration. Mote spoons, from the 18th century, have a pierced bowl to skim tea leaves and a pointed end to clear the teapot spout.

Early silver spoons were forged by hand, the bowl and stem hammered from a single bar of silver and then shaped and finished. From the 19th century most were cut from rolled sheet and shaped between steel dies in a press, which made matching patterns quick to produce. Handmade spoons show slight irregularities.

To be born with a silver spoon in one's mouth means to be born into wealth. The phrase comes from the custom of godparents giving a silver spoon, often an apostle spoon, as a christening present. Silver christening spoons and spoon and pusher sets are still traditional baby gifts.

No. Silver darkens on contact with sulphur compounds, found in eggs, onions and some impurities, which is where the old belief came from, because early arsenic poisons often contained sulphur. Most poisons do not react with silver at all, so a silver spoon cannot show whether food is safe.

It is better not to. Dishwasher detergent is harsh and can pit, stain and dull silver, and silver touching stainless steel in the basket can mark both. Washing by hand in warm soapy water and drying at once keeps silver spoons bright. Never put silver or any metal in a microwave.

Silver spoons tarnish, turning yellow and then black, especially after contact with eggs, which contain sulphur. They do not rust, because rust is iron corrosion and silver contains no iron. Regular use and washing keep tarnish at bay; a silver cloth removes it.

Yes. Sterling silver spoons are safe for eating and have been used for centuries; silver does not contain lead. Wash them in warm soapy water after use. Silver plated spoons are safe too while the plating is intact; worn plate exposing the base metal is best kept for display.

Souvenir spoons with enamelled crests or town names were made in large numbers, so most are worth little above their silver if sterling, and little at all if plated. Collections of Georgian, provincial, Scottish or apostle spoons, and sets by known makers, are a different matter and sell well.

Spoon rings are made by cutting the handle from a spoon and bending it into a ring, a craft popular from the 1970s. Rings made from sterling spoons often keep part of the hallmark on the band; many are made from plated spoons, marked with the maker's name only. Their value is decorative.

Photograph the back of each spoon showing the hallmark, and the front showing the pattern, and send them for a free valuation within one working day. Do not polish them first. We buy single spoons, sets and canteens, pay the same day by bank transfer, and offer insured postage, free collection or an appointment.

Most Wm. Rogers spoons are silver plate, an American brand later owned by International Silver, marked Wm Rogers or with A1 or Silverplate. They have no silver value. Sterling pieces under the name are stamped Sterling.

Yes, sterling silver spoons can be melted and refined, which is what happens to worn and odd spoons sold for their silver. Melting destroys the hallmark and any collector value, so antique, provincial and maker-marked spoons should always be sold intact.

Sterling silver spoons are fairly soft and can bend if used to lever lids or dig into hard food, especially thin Georgian spoons. A silversmith can straighten a bent spoon. Silver plated spoons with a harder base metal bend less but can crack the plating.

Small silver spoons had particular uses: salt spoons for open salts, mustard spoons, egg spoons, coffee spoons, caddy spoons for measuring tea, and christening spoons for babies. Many come in sets in fitted cases, and Georgian and Victorian examples are collected.