Antiques Guide to Worldwide Silver Alloy Markings & Trade Names
There are numerous tradenames and alloy markings that antique dealers and collectors can encounter when dealing with non-sterling silver items. The following list is intended to help identify items correctly and, hopefully, avoid making expensive mistakes.
Afghan Silver: An alternative name for nickel silver.
African Silver: A mark that was found on some English silverplate items 1850-1900.
Alaska Metal: A trade name for a line of silverplate flatware that resembled sterling silver that was sold by Sears & Roebuck & Co from 1908 onward.
Albu Silver: A british manufacturer of plated-brass novelties was using this marking from the 1880s.
Alpaca or Alpacca, ALP, Alpacca Prima NS: Alternative names for nickel silver which were used as a trade names for Berndorf AG of Austria.It is now a generic term used by Germanic and Scandinavian Countries and as far as Mexico.
Aluminum Silver: A trade name for the non-silver alloy used by Daniel & Arter in Birmingham, UK.
Argentium Argentine Plate: A nickel silver mark.
Argentum: Another nickel silver marking.
Austrian Silver: A further nickel silver mark.
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Bengal Silver: This is an alternative tradename for a non-silver containing alloy employed by Daniel & Arter in Birmingham, UK.
Brazil Silver & Solid Brazil Silver: Sometimes known as German silver this is a silvery white alloy of zinc, copper and nickel which contains no silver whatsoever.
Brazilian Silver: Another alternative trade name used for an alloy containing no silver used by Daniel & Arter of Birmingham, UK.
Bristol Silver: The trade name for a good quality but non-silver alloy made by the Bristol Mfg. Co. of Attleboro, Massachusetts, US between 1895 & 1915.
Coin Silver: This is a generic term for items made from melted coins. There was no oficial standard or legally required markings for coin silver.
Continental Nickel Silver: As the name suggests, nickel silver.
Empire Art Silver: A trade name for silverplated base metals employed by the E & J Bass Company in New York between 1890 & 1930.
England Silver: Nickel silver.
EPNS and EPBM: Items marked EPNS are Electro-Plated Nickel Silver. EPBM marked items are made of Electro-Plated Britannia Metal (electro-plated pewter or nickel silver).
German Silver: A commonly used mark for a silvery-white alloy made of copper, nickel and zinc which has no silver content at all.
Gun Metal: A bronze alloy often used to make cannons from which the name is derived. It is sometimes used to describe other dark-grey cast metals.
Japanese Silver: An alternative name used for a non-silver alloy employed by Daniel & Arter in Birmingham, UK.
Laxey Silver: Another trade marking for a non-silver alloy employed by Daniel & Arter in Birmingham, UK.
Mexican Silver: Usually with no official assay mark meaning there's no guarantee of any silver content in items bearing this mark.
Nearsilver: A nickel silver tradename of undocumented origin.
Nevada Silver: Tradename applied to a non-silver alloy employed by Daniel & Arter of Birmingham, UK.
New Silver: Another name for nickel silver.
Nickel Silver: A commonly used alloy favoured for its resemblence to sterling silver. Comprising copper, zinc, and nickel, items marked nickel silver have no real silver content.
Norwegian Silver: Another tradename for nickel silver items manufactured by WG&S.
Oregon Silver: This marking is found on some pieces of English silverplate dating from the late 19th century.
Paktong, Pakfong, Baitung, Paitun.: These are obsolete names applied to a Chinese alloy similar to nickel silver.
Panama Silver: A mark usually found on nickel silver flatware items.
Pearl Silver: Another marking usually found on nickel silver flatware pieces.
Potosi Silver: An additional tradename for nickel silver employed by WG&S.
Siberian Silver: This mark can be found on silverplated copper pieces from England dating from the late 1800s.
Silvanir and Silverine: These are seperate tradenames for non-silver alloy items made by the Nov-E-Line Mfg Co in New York between 1890 & 1910.
Silveroin: Tradename mark on a non-silver alloy employed by the Bristol Mfg.Company in Attleboro, Massachusetts between 1895 and 1915.
Solid Yukon Silver Warranted: This is a tradename found on some silverplate items made by Raymond Mfg. Co of Muncie, Indiana until the 1920s.
Sonora Silver: This is a tradename for nickel silver as used by Walker & Hall in Sheffield, UK.
Sterline: This is a tradename for a non-silver containing alloy employed by James E Blake Co of Attleboro, MA in the early years of the twentieth century.
Sterlon: A tradename given to silver alloys and some plated items distributed by Milton Schreiber of New York from 1949.
Tutenag: Thisis an obsolete name for an Indian metal alloy similar to nickel silver and was also employed to describe zinc items from India.
Tyrol Silver: Another tradename for nickel silver items.
Utah Metal: A marking found on flatware made from a non-silver containing alloy.
Venetian Silver: Thisis a tradename used for nickel silver by Deykin & Sons of Birmingham, UK.
Wolf Silver: A marking which can be found on flatware msde with a non-silver alloy.
Yukon Silver: Another marking found on non-silver containing alloy flatware.
