Stradivari Wallace Silverware

[CarlWohlforth]

Well it wasn't too hard to find information about the 12 place setting Wallace silverware set I have. They still sell this particular pattern. Wallace is an old (dating from the 1800s) US silverware manufacturer. You can buy a new 12 place setting (66 piece) of this design for a mere $6,695 (http://www.silversuperstore.com/wallace/sterling_silver_flatware/stradivari_silverware.html. This is a 76 piece set.

According to the website the Stradivari design is unusual in the tip of the piece is folded over. Everything is sterling except the knife blade. Two differences between what I have and what they are selling is my set has a butter spreader for each serving. The other difference is mine are engraved with a V. This set has the  place vs dinner settings. The difference is the fork and knife are slightly shorter (1/2" and 3/4" respectively).

I weighed a regular fork, salad fork, butter knife, regular spoon and soup spoon. They weighed in at 6 ounces. Sterling is 0.925% silver. 6 * 0.925 is 5.55 ounces of pure silver. That is just one setting (minus the knife) so a dozen settings contains 12 * 5.55 or 66.6 ounces of pure silver. As of this writing N.Y. spot silver prices are $18.39/ounce according to Kitco (their prices are available on my coin website: http://www.carlscoins.com/). That makes those 12 place settings worth about $1,225 in melt value alone.

The knife weighs 3 oz. I estimate the handle weighs more than half of that. Assuming it only weighs 1.5 oz we add another 16.65 oz pure silver or $306. The 2 serving spoons, gravy ladle and cocktail fork contain very close to 7 oz pure silver for $127.

The grand total is at least 90 ounces of pure silver crafted into beautiful silverware housed in a solid, velvet lined, wood case.

[Bubblehead]

 

Very interesting post.  Never realized that people really spent that kinda
money for eating utensils.  

Our "Best" dinerware set, for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc., is a
s/s service for 12 of "Paul Revere" made by who knows? and traded for
many, many, "Betty Crocker" coupons of yore! I loved (and still do) the
Betty Crocker "Tuna Noodle Casserole."  

I have an old "aluminum" Navy dinner plate, from the early 1900's.  I
believe aluminum was an expensive metal in those days.  This plate
may have been made for an Officer's Mess, the wardroom!  I somehow
can't see the Admirals in Washington, spending money for aluminum plates
for lowly enlisted peons to eat from.  I liked the old, compartmented, stainless
steel trays, anyway.  

Well, at least my dinner plate was round... Closest I can come to a "coin" post!

 

  Ouch!  Carl, I did add another "+" to your Karma Score, as my way of
       taking blame for being facetious!

[Bretts911]

Very cool My mom she has a friend who gave her some sliverware from the 1880s I forgot the name but my moms friend said it was fake silver but I dont think its fake because it toned and it feels like real silver. I will have to dig them out again just got these about a month ago I will have to post the brand name of them and some pics soon.

[Laserart]

Would you melt the silverware? Would it be worth more?

[Bubblehead]

Would you melt the silverware? Would it be worth more?

 

With recent scrap (melt) silver values, Carl's set, probably, w/o engraving was not
that costly 50 or so years ago.  Generally, this type of silverware most likely was p/o
wedding gifts...  Children, or children's children, selling it for scrap value these days would not be
doing too badly..   I asked a neighbor to search out some early sterling silver prices,
and $36 was not uncommon for a basic 5 piece table setting. 

 

[CarlWohlforth]

I haven't gotten any offers for the set yet, but I haven't shopped it around either. Since I'm willing to take melt value for the set it probably would be an easier sell in the form of bars of pure silver.

[Laserart]

Is there a minimum amount you need before you can send it to a refinery?

[CarlWohlforth]

I don't know - haven't looked into it. First I will see if a pawn shop will pay melt for it.