posted 08-11-2008 10:00 AM            

I don't know what EP SS stands for but think it might be electro-plated solid silver. For Real??? What does EP SS mean? And where can I find out what all these EP, Quad, etc. mean?

I have a small collection of silver objects and flatware, but have no idea if I am buying the "good" stuff that I would like to have.

posted 08-11-2008 01:49 PM            

It's a long way to go and no one knows/recognize each mark, that's for sure. I have just begin with collecting silver for a (I hope) a long period.

I enjoy to research the background information by each object I have.

Who was the maker(mark of the silversmith or company,in which period is it made (year letter indication),what is the alloy(difference indication given by countries,control stamp of a assay office or stamp that tax is payed over the silver object to the state.etc.

Im- or export stamps.

I was surprised about all the information there is to be find also to get by forums.

Another possibility is visiting local library, jewel stores or e-mail some institutes who can inform about silver/marks.

Here in Holland we have four marks which are stamped into the silver object.

And each country use his own of course!

It's a nice hobby and try to find it also on second hand markets, fancy fairs, garage selling, advertising and if you doubt take some one with you if you want to buy a special object or expensive piece.

There is also a lot of information of course to find in books, silver books are mostly expensive, but there are also second hand book markets where you can find nice and less expensive one's or try internet info websites.

Have fun and enjoy the hobby!
I hope there will be more reactions!

posted 08-13-2008 04:26 PM            

If it is important to you to collect only solid sterling silver, you really do need to learn a few basics on reading the markings and to do that you need to buy a few of the basic reference books that you can find described on this website and depending on what kind of silver you would like to collect. You will also need to prepare yourself to pay proportionately higher prices for solid sterling silver things than silver plated things, in most cases.

The easiest marking to read are is the one that actually says 'sterling silver' which is pretty commonly seen and used on American silver of the last century or more. Another easy to understand one is .925 which means 925 parts out of 1000 parts of the metal is pure silver with the other 75 parts being something like copper and nickel which are necessary to make the pure silver hard enough to actually use. Totally pure silver is so soft a spoon would bend if you tried to eat mashed potatoes with it. The .925 marking is found on some American silver but is more common on silver from Latin America, Asia, and some European countries. For many European countries they use little code symbols like a lion, or crown with a half moon, or thousands of other little markings that have been used over the centuries. To confuse the matter of such 'hallmarks', there is no law outside of those countries that prevents someone in another country from using almost identical markings on non-silver.

Learning to decypher these markings becomes part of the fun of the hobby.