Hobbies And Interests
Instructions
Look for hallmarks on silver dinnerware. On British silver, the date letter will pinpoint your dinnerware down to an exact year. If U.S. silver is marked "925" -- standing for 925 parts silver per thousand -- then it is from the start of the 20th century at the earliest. The words "Sterling" or "Sterling silver" by themselves would date a set to the century before.
Check for marks such as "EP" and "A1" to indicate dinnerware which is silver-plated. As mentioned in the introduction, silver-plated dinnerware will date from no earlier than the 1840s, when the process was first introduced.
Examine the dinnerware for a maker's mark and try typing whatever name you find into your computer's search engine. This might bring up the manufacturer's website, in which case you can browse their "about" or "archive" page for information on their history and products. Alternatively you might stumble upon a collectors' page or some similar dinnerware sets offered on Internet auction sites. Any of these might be of assistance in dating your set. If the manufacturer is no longer in business, then at least you'll know that your set of dinnerware dates to sometime before they closed shop.
Examine any packaging that comes with the dinnerware set. In many ways this is the easiest method of dating. Large vintage sets often came in handsome oak boxes with fitted drawers, while smaller sets were housed in cases of black imitation leather, usually with red velvet interiors. All of these items will show their age, and should contrast sharply with modern hardwood boxes and cheaper plastic packaging.
Look at the way in which the dinnerware set is decorated. While popular designs such as the so-called King's pattern -- where the forks and spoons have violin-shaped terminals -- were repeated and imitated over many decades, as a general rule of thumb plain dinnerware is either 18th century or 20th century, while in the 19th century it took on an increasingly elaborate appearance.