Silver cutlery: sterling against EPNS, and why filled handles weigh less than they look

Sterling versus silver plate, the EPNS trap

Sterling silver and silver plate are easy to mix up, so cutlery is tested here rather than judged by appearance. Sterling pieces are solid silver, .925 fine, hallmarked with a lion passant and the assay office mark. Silver plate is a thin layer of silver electroplated onto a base metal core, usually nickel silver, hence EPNS. EPNS pieces look like silver, weigh almost as much and tarnish similarly. They contain almost no silver and have no bullion value, as what EPNS means on silver explains. If you already know what you have, the service page to sell silver cutlery and canteens covers the label, the cover level and the paperwork.

The marks are the giveaway. EPNS, EP, A1, NS or a maker name with no assay marks usually means plate. Full British hallmarks (lion passant, town mark, date letter and maker mark) mean sterling. If your set is unmarked, send it. XRF reads the alloy directly, and we test more than one point on a piece, because a plated surface can read as silver on a single reading.

Where the hallmarks sit on cutlery

On forks and spoons, the hallmark is usually on the back of the handle, near the bowl or tines, sometimes faint. On knives, the hallmark is usually on the blade collar or the ferrule where the handle meets the blade. Where the handle is engraved with a family monogram, the hallmark is normally on the opposite face.

Why filled knife handles weigh less than the scale suggests

Antique silver knife handles are almost always filled. The outer skin is sterling silver, hollow-formed in two halves and soldered together. The inside is filled with pitch, plaster or composition to give the knife the right weight and feel in the hand. The blade itself is normally steel, not silver.

For a silver-content offer we calculate the silver weight of the outer skin only. A loaded handle is the technical term. The total weight on the scale is not the silver weight. This is not a trick. It is the way the cutlery was made. The XRF reading confirms the silver content of the skin and the offer is built from there.

Spoons, forks and serving pieces

Solid silver spoons and forks weigh as the scale says. A sterling tablespoon is solid silver from end to end. Serving pieces, ladles, sauce spoons, cake slices, are usually solid too, although larger pieces sometimes have a wooden handle. We will tell you in the written valuation which pieces were valued for full weight and which were treated as filled.

Working out the silver weight

Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. For flatware the calculation is silver weight (full for solid pieces, skin-only estimate for loaded knife handles) valued against the live silver market, with any small premium where the set is complete, by a notable maker or in a presentation canteen. The sell silver cutlery and canteens page publishes the full deduction method, indicative piece weights and the sterling-versus-plate mark table.

Posting cutlery

1. WhatsApp photos of the set, the hallmarks and any canteen box to 07944 014111.
2. Wait for our reply and a prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label.
3. Wrap each piece individually in tissue or bubble wrap so blades do not scratch handles.
4. Use a rigid box. A heavy canteen will burst a soft envelope.
5. Check the total weight is inside Royal Mail Special Delivery limits before sealing.
6. Drop off at a Post Office counter and forward the tracking on WhatsApp.

Splitting a large canteen across labels

Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. A large canteen with many pieces can exceed that cap. Tell us before you ship and we will arrange more than one label. Accept and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour. Decline and the set is returned to you by tracked post at our cost.