posted 04-22-2011 02:01 PM            

Being the bad guy. The guy who do not cry for price increase - the reason I cry is that it becomes more costly to collect. But is it really that bad. All times people have scrapped silver. In the old days it got out of fashion and was recycled. We can only guess what beautiful things that disappeared? This is what arises upon scrap in 1830ties.

The master is NF Niels Christian Felumb born 1802 in Copenhagen get citizenship December 19 1829 he dies 1882

Why do I say recycle because these marks are prior to December 1829.

The guardian F died 1823 and the 3 towers has no year. He used af 17?? 3-towers mark to save the money to the guardian.

And he cheated the king for taxes - the tax mark was valid up to 1830 so he did not alter that.

He had from an old piece saved the marks - added his own mark, but rest is recycled. Most likely the silver used for the item was scrap anno 1830.

And now with this example - the bad boy await your remarks.

posted 04-23-2011 03:09 AM            

This one I find even worse. At on-line auctions in this randomly picked seller (and he is not unusual) he has "SCARCE DELAWARE Teaspoon JOSEPH DRAPER Wilmington" a few of these - sell them separately to obtain a better price.

This separating items that has been together for generations is (for me) a crime worse than scrapping ordinary silver.

posted 04-23-2011 05:30 AM            

I remember being a child collecting coins. One special 5 kr (1$) was rare - it was Danish 5 kr 1969. Today the other 5 kr (1960-1968) in mint quality is rare because they where ordinary. The 1969 all enden in collections all in unused quality.

Another "crime" is museums - they store their silver in depos - unseen by anyone. Often huge quantities - they could do better in a private collection.

I agree that starting collecting might be more difficult due higher prices. But again the things that I buy - prices are not even close to what 200 og 300 year old items should be. Even for ordinary things. A single spoon anno 1800 can be bought for around 200 DKK or 40$ (unless I find them even cheaper - but then they have been lost before that - and found by me) 40$ equals the theoretical scrap value - we do not yet get even close to world marked price.

posted 04-23-2011 07:56 AM            

quote:

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...Another "crime" is museums - they store their silver in deposes - unseen by anyone. Often huge quantities -...

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Museums and other institutions are doing more to make their out of sight collections available. For example at the Met there is the
The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art.

quote:

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The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art makes available for inspection those American fine art and decorative art objects that are not currently on view in the Museum galleries and period rooms or that are on loan to other institutions. The combination of works of art and research facilities makes the Luce Center a focal point for educational programs in The American Wing, home of the Departments of American Paintings and Sculpture and American Decorative Arts.

Objects in the Luce Center are arranged by material (oil paintings, sculpture, furniture and woodwork, glass, ceramics, and metalwork) and within these categories are organized by form and chronology. With the exception of those objects particularly sensitive to light (such as textiles or works on paper), most of the reserve items are on constant view.

As the labeling is minimal for individual items on view, visitors are encouraged to use the computerized catalog of the collection, which includes information on all objects in the Departments of American Paintings and Sculpture and American Decorative Arts (not just those on view in the Luce Center).

The Henry R. Luce Center for the Study of American Art is made possible by the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. Generous support was also provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Additional grants were received from the National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts.

The Luce Center is open to all visitors during the Museum's public hours.

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Hopefully the trend will continue to spread.

posted 04-25-2011 09:01 PM            

Without giving a full discourse on the underlying economic theories that are quoted (or mis-quoted), the general idea is: there is more gold than silver (5bil oz in gold vs 1bil oz in silver), therefore once the so-called market manipulation ends and the “real” price of silver hits, it will be worth 5 times more valuable than gold (gold at $1400 * 5 = $7000).

Anyway, if it does go to $7000/oz, I have some I will be more than happy to sell!

posted 04-26-2011 01:29 PM            

Right now the stock market is up and silver is down to $45.07. I suspect when the market is down and economic news is not bullish then silver will climb.

posted 04-26-2011 02:51 PM            

Gold on the other hand is much more scarce and thus I think one reason that silver is going up in the short run is that the less well off can no longer afford gold so they are turning to silver.