Anyone know if 3020 is sterling silver? I've never seen it used before so I gotta make sure it's what I think it is. This is a silver box made by WM Rogers & Son and underneath the name it has 3020 stamped. If you know of a link you can lead me to please toss it my way. :thumb:
Silver is hallmarked as low as 75% then 80% 90% or coin silver 92.5 (925) or sterling and then .999 fine which is as close to pure silver as you can get. Early pieces from England and France with the maker mark have numbers 1,2,and 3 corresponding to the % of silver in the item. That being said the item has none of those markings and is a silver plated cigarette/cigar case (probably cedar or rosewood lined). 3020 is more a catalog number for reference of the item in regards to WM Rogers & sons production pieces actually reproduction pieces of Paul Revere designs. When WM Rogers died the real silver part of the business was bought by International Silver Co. and the silver plated part of the business (especially the silverware) was snapped up by Oneida Co. Yes Paul Revere was a blacksmith, goldsmith and silversmith and if it was an original of his from the 1700's it would be worth tens of thousands. If it was a sterling silver piece made by WM Rogers it would be hundreds and maybe thousands. Being a plated remake of a Revere design by Rogers and sons some have sold on etsy and the like for about $10 the most I've seen actually paid (and not just an asking price) for a plated box similar to yours was pre-recession and the antique dealer was talked down from $25 ask to $15.
It's not what you think it is. (Someone was so cheap they opted for '64 rather than "1964" lol. That should tell you it's pure junk, not junk silver.) And engraved silver-plate is worth even less. It's a yard sale tchotchke, worth ~$7. if lucky. I'm guessing a dealer probably wouldn't pay you $4. for it nowadays.
If it is a cigar or cigarette case, perhaps the "NCYBL" is a clue to why only "64" was used instead of the full year. Maybe this was a case that the youngsters presented to one of the coaches in a (?) North Carolina Youth Baseball League. Chris
That sticker dates it well after US-made sterling silver started to be consistently marked. By at least 50 years. And that hinge doesn't look right for a sterling piece. "3020" is in all likelihood the pattern number for that box. In fact, I found an auction for the exact same box here. The fourth picture clearly shows the plating rubbed off.
Ya, this "doesn't look right" in a half-dozen ways, actually. 1) If it obviously looks like Silver-plate, almost certainly it IS silver plate. 2) Form is mass-produced: if it LOOKS like mid-20th C. artless junk it's probably NOT SILVER. 3) Not sure where you folks shop, but I've never seen genuine silver marked w/ manufacturer's tacky paper labels (and, lacking proper hallmark/stamp.) 4) "3020" is clearly a machine-engraved model #; a "hallmark" or "stamp" it isn't. 5) Cheap custom engraving (skimping on characters) signals very low-cost gift: you typically don't engrave Reed & Barton like dept store junk.* 6) Good call on that hinge, clorox ... but that eBay BIN has been up for ages, only a clueless rube would pay that ($30 is a frikken joke.) *Beyond simple initials for a personal jewelry, you do sometimes find mysterious acronyms for discrete mementos in sterling. But the fine quality of the engraving is evident even where the economy of initialling is undeniable. I'm no expert, I go by gut instinct on both the heft and aesthetics of the piece: you know quality when you see it (or, you don't.) Carefully consider trickier examples, train your eyes. Imagine you're thrifting and you find something with fine form, heavy, unstamped (by definition: no obvious signs of being mass-produced Silver-Plate) and elaborately engraved. The first 1930s-40s case is probably Silver-Plate, but older-looking or more artisanal objects might be sterling (or worth ~$20. if later discovered to be vintage nickel.) IMO View attachment 240434
