My girlfriend came across a box of silver flat ware. Some we can identify as plated silver but some we used a magnet on and it didn't stick. How do we know if it's 925?
Some flatware is made of a brass composition and then plated, so the magnet test will not tell if is plated or solid. Almost all solid sterling pieces will have a makers mark stamped on them. Look up silver makers marks, and inspect flatware with magnification. If it plated with real silver it should have a mark for that too.
After reading your post we figured out it was all silver plated. Only spent $9.00 and some of it she will use so not a total waste.
For future reference 18k gold acid works to test sterling silver. If the scratch mark turns a cottage cheese white then it's sterling. You have to scratch deep enough to not just be scratching a plating layer only though
Most sterling silverware is marked as such, and actually says "STERLING" right on it. Going back to the older antique stuff, it may not be marked "sterling" but you will find the hallmarks and you can follow them. Also look for known brands. Gorham, International Silver, Wallace, Towle, Stieff, there are others. I think Gorham went on a buying spree and bought up every manufacturer they could to get a hold of the pattern patents. They folded so many into their family - it still shocks me. This is the best site to use to figure out hallmarks. It's horribly organized and takes forever to identify - but it has almost every hallmark I've ever had to hunt down. Time invested generally pays off. http://www.925-1000.com/
