How To Identify Your Silver Pattern

Last Friday, Janet and I met up and went to the Groundhog Sale at the Old Lucketts Store.  Lucketts is always a great place to shop, but it gets even better when they pull out all the stops for their Groundhog Sale ... adding merchandise in tents outside and marking down the prices for the weekend to terribly tempting levels.

While we were shopping outside, we came across a vendor with a table full of old mismatched silverplate flatware ... a particular weakness of mine.  At $1 per piece, it was too tempting and we dug in.  I hunt for floral designs (especially ROSES) and pieces that are monogrammed.  There were a lot of both on this table.

'Signature' 1950 ... 'Louis XVI' 1911...  unmarked (but with a really cool monogram).

When we finished digging, I had a cake server and a double handful of forks and spoons.  I gave the man a $20, he handed me some change, and both of us were happy.

When I got home, my curiousity got the better of me, and I began to search the Internet for a way to identify the patterns.  I already have a big collection of silverplate (for feeding folks when we have large parties ... I detest plastic silverware), and these newest additions made me more curious than ever to identify what I have.

These are a few of the patterns that I bought at Lucketts.  We'll get their identities below.

After searching for a while, I found the most wonderful web site!!  It's so helpful that I have to pass it along so all of you can use it too.

Sterling Flatware Fashions and Facts

If you can read the maker's mark on the back of your flatware, you can most likely identify the pattern using this site.  I set to work, and had the most wonderful few hours with a magnifying glass reading maker's marks, comparing patterns ... and I eventually identified almost all of the patterns in my collection.

'Princess Louise' 1880 ... 'Rosalie' 1938

'Bradford' 1915 ... 'Heraldic' 1916

'Cotillion' 1932 ... 'Royal Rose' 1939

'New Century' 1898 ... 'Signature' 1950

Now that I have identified most of the patterns in my collection, I'm not exactly sure what I can actually DO with the information.  It's not like I will search out more pieces in any given pattern, because the idea is to have a pleasing array of mixed patterns.  All I really accomplished was to waste a bit of time one afternoon, and to learn a lot about silverplated flatware.

When Janet and I had finished at the Groundhog Sale, and after I dropped her (and her treasures) at her house, I realized that she accidently left her silverware behind.  I will give it to her when I see her later this morning ... when she reads this, I'll bet she goes online to identify the patterns.

Thanks for wasting part of your day with me!