posted 11-29-2000 10:43 PM            

What do you think about unmarked coin? Will you buy it if it presents itself? Will you pay as much for an unmarked piece as a marked one (I didn't think you would)? How much value is in that little stamp?

As more research is conducted into American silver, the more evidence we have that the mark on a piece of silver is often not the mark of the person or shop that made it. The silversmith community was very close-knit and cooperative. Some shops manufactured goods for wholesale, some were purely retailers, some specialized in engraving or castings, and some did a little of everything. Each of these types of shop sold silver to the public with their own mark, and each has been recorded as a "silversmith", whether or not they made anything of their own.

To pose the question again, where does the value in a piece of coin silver lie? Is it in design, craftsmanship, historical connections, or just a mark? If half the value is in the mark alone, are we being foolish?

At a recent New York auction, I saw that a fine unmarked Philadelphia tankard, attributed to Philip Syng, sold for only $4800. Meanwhile, similar marked pieces were selling for over $20,000. Why? What are we paying for? In furniture, where labels are the exception rather than the rule, craftsmanship, proportion, design and execution are what drives prices. Attributions are often based on style and quality alone, and collectors accept these attributions and pay accordingly. Why can't we get to that point with silver?

In short, I think we are too hung up on marks, to our own detriment as collectors.