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posted 11-01-2016 01:46 PM            

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I recently bought (as silverplate) a small tureen with a stag-type design. It has a Tiffany mark with the 550 Broadway address, which they were at from 1853-1870. At that point I believe they were still producing coin silver, and I can't seem to find the same mark in my reference books, even Carpenter's. I have very little experience with silverplate, but I would expect Tiffany plate to be rather heavy, which makes it even harder to tell. My gut says silverplate, but I'd really appreciate any information on the mark!

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posted 11-01-2016 11:18 PM            

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That's really cool! I'm leaning towards sterling, but I'll admit I'm not really sure.

Can you post a close-up of the monogram? And perhaps the stag?

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posted 11-02-2016 12:31 PM            

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Thanks! I really like it. Here are several more pictures, probably more than you want!

When I received this in the mail, one of his antlers had broken off.
One of the reasons I'm posting this, is that I'm trying to determine if its worth taking down to my jewelers to see if it can be repaired. It's a clean break, but its such a shame it happened.

There is an identical monogram on both sides.

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posted 11-02-2016 12:35 PM            

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Here are 2 more pictures that may show a bit about its construction, if that might help. I appreciate any insight anyone has!

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Lisa

Rim

Inside the lid

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posted 11-02-2016 02:53 PM            

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That's a terrific piece!

The antler could be soldered back on by a professional. Does the metal in the break look like silver?

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posted 11-02-2016 11:51 PM            

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You found a great piece. I would think a trip to a silversmith is in order. If nothing else they can tell whether or not is solid silver or plate.

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posted 11-03-2016 09:32 AM            

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I hope who ever you take this to knows how determine its silver content without filing or acid.

Filing your handsome item and/or using acid on it will lessen its value because it will leave the item damaged.

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posted 11-03-2016 05:02 PM            

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Thank you for the warning, Scott. I took it to my jewelers. They manufacture very good custom jewelry, and they can do the repair - but for silver content they said they could acid test it. I'll have them do the repair, but forego the testing for now.

Is there a safe way to determine its content?

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posted 11-05-2016 07:39 PM            

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If I had to guess I'd say solid silver.

Silver is a terrific thermal conductor; I have heard of tests where you can place an ice cube on silver and the ice should start melting almost right away as heat is transferred from the silver. Furthermore the silver itself should quickly turn cold, according to this theory.

I have not tried this method, as it seems to have some room for interpretation, so I can't vouch for it...I would perhaps try the method on the tureen as well as on a control object (a similarly sized item known to be solid silver). Perhaps another member has tried this method? At least it is free and non-invasive.

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posted 11-06-2016 08:09 PM            

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Very nice and thanks for sharing. Personally, I would not be able to sleep until I had this tested. I am absolutely no expert, but with the makers stamps I have a few concerns. Please understand that i scrutinize every item that I acquire.....so this is not an attack. First, the Broadway stamps that that I have seen are from impressed dies, not individual letters. Second, the addition of "NY" seems redundant to the Broadway address. Finally, there is no sterling or "English Sterling" mark indicating purity.

If this does test pure (not silver plate), then I would bet on coin silver purity. I would also suspect that Tiffany may have been the retailer, possibly explaining the stamping.

The design for the time period fits.

No bets on the table, would love to hear other thoughts.

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posted 11-06-2016 11:59 PM            

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I am a bit suspicious about the Tiffany marking. For example, the "N.Y" seems a bit off not only for the reason that Vetdaddy mentions, but also because there is no matching period after the "Y" - there is only a period after the "N". Such an oversight makes me think twice for such a high end company that was going for perfection on their work. Also, there is a bit of blurring in the "TIFFANY" which could just be an unsteady hand in the striking of the marking but then again why would a company like Tiffany have someone marking their silver who had an unsteady hand. Given that Tiffany markings are among the most forged I would think that some research should go into this one before concluding that this is an authentic Tiffany marking and piece. For example, does this bowl appear in any of the Tiffany catalogs of the era? Are there other examples of this exact marking on unquestionable Tiffany bowls of the era? etc.

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posted 11-07-2016 10:00 AM            

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posted 11-07-2016 10:06 AM            

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Considering that by the time they were at 550 Broadway they were clearly using the "English Sterling" mark and that yours uses the basic mark and taking into account what is in the above posted text, I sadly believe this piece is silver plated.

It's still a nice piece of plate none the less.

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posted 11-07-2016 02:09 PM            

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Thank you, asheland! That is really helpful. May I ask which book or article your photo came from? Of course it would have been very nice for it to have been coin, but it's still a fun old piece! I have a Gorham Saxon Stag soup ladle that should play very nicely with it. ;-) Plus, I learned a little more about these older Tiffany marks, and it forced me to learn to use the photo gallery here - so I will try to share more pieces. (Posting pictures has always been my difficulty!) Thanks so much for the information.

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Lisa

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posted 11-07-2016 02:16 PM            

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Actually, I just thought of another question. Does anyone know what base metal would Tiffany have been using in this time period? I'M curious because it did rather well with the ice cube test Paul recommended. Perhaps copper would transmit temperature in a similar way?

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posted 11-07-2016 04:13 PM            

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Not sure about the metal content. The book is Rainwater's Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers.

I'd love to see this Saxon Stag piece!

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posted 11-07-2016 05:09 PM            

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Don't have access to my references at the moment, so hesitate to comment, but while I've seen similar Tiffany pieces, the mark here really bothers me - in addition to its general off quality, the missing punctuation and lack of other marks already mentioned, just can't recall seeing Tiffany marks with sans-serif lettering before maybe the mid 20th century...

~Cheryl

[This message has been edited by dragonflywink (edited 11-07-2016).]

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posted 11-07-2016 10:40 PM            

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BTW

Have you thought about contacting Tiffany archives.
It may be expensive but maybe worth a try.

Jersey

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