When Does It Become Antique Silver
When does a piece of silver turn into a piece of antique silver. Generally speaking its 70 years before it can be classed as antique silver. The also applies to any object, may it be furniture, pottery or even glassware. Some dealers are attempting to lower this to 50 years.
However at Edinburgh Silver we stand with 70 years as we always believe in the quality and provenance of our silver gifts. However in 1999 it was no longer compulsory to include the date mark on silver. Good luck with dating antique silver in the future.
Vintage Or Antique
The word vintage was only originally applied to bottles of wine. However everyone has applied it to everything. Think of vintage of items that were popular around 50 to 60 years ago. 1960’s to the late 70’s.
You could even go retro and that would be considered 10 years earlier than Vintage.
Collectables Or Antique
Collectable items of silver have nothing to do with age so do not get confused. The term collectable antique silver may be applied to a piece of silver if. The silver object is more than 70 years old along with it being in limited supply.
A silver object can be collectable especially if it is a one of a kind or made by a important silversmith. For example Malcolm Appleby. Generally speaking a collectable is more often defined by its maker and not its age.
London Silver Hallmarks 1916 to 1920
Silver Date Stamps
These are some of the date stamps you should be looking for to confirm that the silver is at least 70 years old.