experts... please help with a ? i have

[pccvanwilder]

ok... so today at work (my job is pretty easy) is was reading all your posts about buying silver and gold scraps at garage sales, second hand stores... etc. i was very impressed to say the least. i decided to take my lunch break and go look around at a VERY small cheap second hand store i have never even set foot in... in the worst part of town. i figured that by doing this i would be able to avoid the somewhat overpriced items at other second hand stores.
i purchased three small plates, all the same and going together. i did this because after going through all the items on the shelves, they were the only ones that stood a chance of being silver in my novice and uneducated opinion. they were much heavier, and very dull. i think they DO look like there had been some kind of thin coating on them at one time, but i figured this would be a learning experience... with a possible very good outcome. worst case scenario, i paid a total of 75 cents and learned something in the mean time.
i am including a picture of one of them. (i have never posted a pic on this site before, so if i do something wrong bear with me.) all three are the same. i need help determining if they are silver or other metal. these were the tests i could come up with online...
1) they conduct temperature very well… quickly spreading the heat/cold
2) they are NOT magnetic
3) i bent and bent and finally broke one in half. they are the same metal all the way through, a dull
silver color.

any other ideas for testing them would be greatly appreciated, and whether they are silver or not… thx for the inspiration! this is great fun already!!

 

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[tattooedmomma]

Do they have any marks on the bottom. If they are silver they should be marked. Also you can buy a test kit on ebay for about 12.00. Hope this helps

 

[pccvanwilder]

thx for the suggestion. i have read a lot of bad reviews about those silver kits... do u think they work? as far as i can tell... it cant be pewter... cause its not magnetic. cant be stainless steel... because two were tarnishing dark and one was tarnishing yellowish. man this is frustrating. i really didnt think they were silver in the beginning, but i keep ruling different metals out. any other suggestions? anyone?

 

[pccvanwilder]

oh yeah... and i cant find any marks at all... on any of them

 

[stefen]

Might consider pot (white) metal which was a cheap casting metal for many things from novelties to toys to ash trays to dishware...

 

[Toby1858]

I like to check out a flea market or two from time to time for scrap silver and what not. For me, I can usually tell if its silver or silver plated by just looking. Seems to me a lightly silver plated item may or may not be marked but 2 or more platings on up is always marked .925 or sterling. and say wether or not its plated or not,but Im no expert for sure. Another way I can tell if something is silver or gold is to have my wife rub the item straight down her cheek,if it leaves a black mark then its real, plated or solid. Her skin reacts big time to the stuff!!