Antique Silver Buying Tips & Avoiding Fakes and Forgeries:           

• Hidden repairs of splits or cracks - Look for any swelling, variation in silver colour, and tiny bubbles/pitting. These are always signs of a repair.           


• Cast Fakes - Poor craftsmanship, blurry hallmarks, lack of definition of pattern, lack of warm patina may be an indication of reproduction by modern casting.


• Cast sets of a single item - Carefully check the spacing, alignment and orientation of the hallmarks of the set by placing the marks side by side, compare also any scratch marks, if they are exactly the same size, position and depth, they are reproduction cast from the same piece.  


• Alterations, Change of Use - e.g. Period and pattern should match; Mote spoons converted from teaspoons; Insertion of old marks on a modern piece; A complete set of an impossible-to-assemble rare patterns, are all pitfalls to watch out for.