Flea Market Sterling find today

[tamrock]

I found this today at an indoor flea market. It has English hallmarks and I think I've deciphered them correctly. It also has a high luster plate finish on it and I believe it's rhodium plate. I've not seen sterling with this plate on old sterling, but I have seen newer sterling jewelry rhodium plated. I haven't tested it, but so far it all looks and pings good to me. It's in remarkable condition and it looks like the vendor even polished it up some. It makes me wonder why they even did that thinking it's plated as they put s.p. dish $3.50 on the tag.


1st mark, is maker mark Edward, John & Wn Bernard ??
2nd mark, paw up lion for sterling silver
3rd mark, lion face no crow for made in London.
4th mark, "h" in cartouche for the year made 1861
5th mark, the ladies profile is the duty mark, meaning tax was paid ??.

 

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[Lost&Found]

Nice find. The lady mark is Queen Victoria and as you said is the duty mark.

 

[luke_00]

AWESOME FIND FOR ONLY $3.50

 

[JimDon]

That is a weird finish for sure. Nice score.

 

[tamrock]

That is a weird finish for sure. Nice score.

I'm thinking it is rhodium plate. It has after when it was made scratch marking on the bottom. They look like I.D. codes for insurance inventory records or some identifying codes? The way it scratched you can tell is not how soft silver would be gouged when etched with a sharp steel tool also. I did read at Wikipedia about rhodium where one of the uses of rhodium was the protect sterling from the elements of the atmosphere. That's about all I've found though. I can't find any examples of old sterling plated like this one. What ever the plate is, it sure did the job of protecting the surface finish.

 

[tamrock]

I can't belief this. Yesterday at the same indoor flea market in the same booth I find the covered glass bowl. I look it over and realized it goes with the steering dish I found weeks earlier. The price of the covered dish is $6.25 This vendor hasn't a clue what what their setting out there. I wonder if they have more ??. The lid is all hallmarked the same as the dish even the little wingnut is stamped along with the final on top. The etched pattern is the same. It's also in remarkable condition for being made in 1861. The dish and lid together weigh a total of 322 grams. I got it all for a bit over 10 bucks. Over the years these indoor flea markets and antique malls have sure yielded some real treasures. I've hunted in this one for now over 20 years and have picked some awesome finds at it.

 

[Ahakunut]

Wow! That's beautiful! It's amazing you found the matching piece weeks apart. Also, I just found a crystal vase with sterling poppies. The tag that was still attached after all these years said it had a rhodium coating for protection. So you're correct in thinking yours had a rhodium coat. Great find!

 

[silverdollarbill]

Wow..that is amazing. Meant to be together. You ever find out if it is rhodium plated?

 

[vpnavy]

Nice buys!

 

[tamrock]

Wow..that is amazing. Meant to be together. You ever find out if it is rhodium plated?

in research it appears the ability to electroplate with rhodium was in practice within the first half of the 19th century. Buy the appearance of the few scratches I see indicate the plated surface is rather hard. The bright color and luster seem to add up that this is a sterling piece, plated with rhodium. Not 100% sure, as I've never seen any sterling plated with rhodium this old. What ever the plating is it sure did an outstanding job, at protecting the surface of it for more then 150 years based on the English date mark.

 

[DFW_THer]

Good show!!!!!!

 

[Red-Coat]

Just doing a bit of tidying up on some older threads, mainly for the benefit of anyone searching the site for information.

A couple of corrections and some additional information.

The date letter is a gothic lower case ‘h’, which is 1863 for London, not 1861

The ‘EB & JB’ mark is for Edward & John Barnard (registered Nov 1851), not Edward, John & William Barnard.

I’m doubtful that this piece has been rhodium plated. I would make a distinction between when such plating became possible and when it actually saw commercial use on sterling silverware. It didn’t really see commercial use until the 1920s when it was regarded as a bit of a novelty and initially used for watch cases, becoming more common in the 1930s especially for things like cigarette lighters and writing instruments. I’ve never seen a Victorian sterling piece with rhodium plating.

What I have seen are sterling pieces electroplated with pure silver, popularly known as “shop finish” or “showroom finish”. The pure silver gave a more attractive shine than sterling for display purposes and also resisted tarnishing for longer because it contained no copper. However, you describe the coating as “harder”, whereas pure silver would be softer, and less scratch-resistant.

 

[tamrock]

Just doing a bit of tidying up on some older threads, mainly for the benefit of anyone searching the site for information.

A couple of corrections and some additional information.

The date letter is a gothic lower case ‘h’, which is 1863 for London, not 1861

The ‘EB & JB’ mark is for Edward & John Barnard (registered Nov 1851), not Edward, John & William Barnard.

View attachment 2125073

I’m doubtful that this piece has been rhodium plated. I would make a distinction between when such plating became possible and when it actually saw commercial use on sterling silverware. It didn’t really see commercial use until the 1920s when it was regarded as a bit of a novelty and initially used for watch cases, becoming more common in the 1930s especially for things like cigarette lighters and writing instruments. I’ve never seen a Victorian sterling piece with rhodium plating.

What I have seen are sterling pieces electroplated with pure silver, popularly known as “shop finish” or “showroom finish”. The pure silver gave a more attractive shine than sterling for display purposes and also resisted tarnishing for longer because it contained no copper. However, you describe the coating as “harder”, whereas pure silver would be softer, and less scratch-resistant.

I believe I was just assuming the surface may be harder, due the fact it's surface is so fine and pristine. Could be it had been handled carefully over a period of 160 years now. It's just a bit of a mystery that this piece has survived so well over all those years. I keep it sealed and away from the atmosphere, so it hopefully keeps its luster for many more years ahead... Thank you again RC.

 

[ARC]

What makes you think it was Rhodium plated ?
Looks like highly polished silver to me.

 

[tamrock]

What makes you think it was Rhodium plated ?
Looks like highly polished silver to me.

Because it's not oxidizing like most sterling silver, which even highly polished would do in a few months. Could be it is plated with pure silver that is not alloyed with copper as RC had mentioned. I only thought rhodium was a possibility, as it's use very often today on sterling pieces. That process of Rhodium plating really didn't become more commonly used until the 1940s I now know.