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History
For centuries people tried to discover a way to adhere thin layers of silver or gold to copper and other base metals. The Sheffield plate process was discovered in 1379, requiring a thick layer of silver be fused to a layer of copper. Electroplating was discovered in England, whereby silver could be coated with a thin layer of copper.
It took an American from Philadelphia named John O. Mead to see the value in finding a way to cover copper with silver. American silver mines were producing the largest amount of silver in the world. Mead was determined to capitalize on those silver finds and after a tedious research process found a way to plate silver to copper. He opened his silverplating company in 1837. His company was an immediate success, producing low-cost silverplated flatware, hollowware and other silver items.
Research the Pattern
Silverplating made silver items available to the expanding American middle class. A multitude of companies sprang up during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to serve the buying public. Sterling silver was scarce and expensive, while silverplate was plentiful and affordable.
There are hundreds of patterns to choose from. Knowing the name of the manufacturer can help you narrow your search for a pattern name. The first step in identifying a piece of silverplate is to establish the name of the pattern. Your public library probably has one or more books with photos of silverplate patterns, and there are helpful websites. Many companies have similar patterns, so it is important to have the name of the manufacturing company when you are comparing pictures of patterns to your piece of silverplate.
Check the Back and the Profile
Most silverplate items, especially flatware, will be stamped with the maker's name. If you are lucky, the name of the pattern will also be stamped on the back of the spoon or fork handle. Some of the most popular company names are American companies. Look for such names as National Silver Company, Oneida, Community Plate, Rogers Brothers, 1847 Rogers and R. Wallace &Company. You may need to clean the piece and use a magnifying glass to identify the company name.
Silverplate flatware of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries came in many shapes and sizes. Each piece in a pattern from a given manufacturer will have its own distinct profile or outline. For example, you may identifiy the pattern design on a fork to be Community Plate's "Fluer de Luce" pattern. To further idenfity the piece look for the difference between a dinner fork, salad fork and meat fork. If your piece's profile doesn't match any of the profiles for Community Plate's "Fluer de Luce" pattern, check the design detail more carefully. With so many companies copying each other's designs, it may be important to verify the profile as well as the pattern and maker.
Sterling versus Silverplate
Sterling silver is a scarce and valuable commodity. Its composition was decreed by law in the year 1300 to be 925 parts pure silver and 75 parts of an alloy. A silversmith would take his work to a government assay office to have it tested. Once declared sterling, the silversmith could put his hallmark on the piece. English and European sterling silver is usually identified by the marker's hallmark and the word sterling stamped somewhere on the piece. The exception is American sterling silver. The practice of testing the silver for sterling fell off in this country and not all silversmiths developed hallmarks. This makes it difficult to identify many pieces of American-made sterling silver. It makes those pieces that can be recognized by their American hallmarks that much more valuable. Silverplate on the other hand is almost always stamped with the maker's name.
Coin Silver versus Silverplate
Another American practice was that of turning silver coins into silverware. Americans developed the practice of taking silver coins to a silversmith and having them melted down to make teaspoons and other silver items. In the mid-nineteenth century some silverplate companies stamped their pieces with the words "coin silver" to denote quality. If you find a piece of silver marked "coin silver," it is silverplate.