Humans have used silverware for thousands of years. It can take on various forms, from spoons to forks and knives. Silverware is one way to add contrast and style to any meal. Silverware can take on a new look when light shines on it. The light bounces off the metal and is reflected into the room, creating a bright, shiny shine contrasting with the silver’s usual matte finish.
Wm Rogers is one of the best quality silverware in most European countries. However, nobody knows how to find the actual value of old silverware. Well, this blog will be a helpful guide to you to answer all your questions.
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History of Wm Rogers Silverware
William Hazen Rogers was a well-known American silversmith and watchmaker who lived from 1801 to 1873. He was born in New Hampshire. William Rogers began as an apprentice with Joseph Church, a silversmith and watchmaker. Then Rogers partnered with his brothers Asa Rogers, Simeon Rogers and other silversmiths during his lifetime. With his three brothers, and later on, his son, Wm Rogers, was responsible for creating hundreds of silver pattern designs for silver, silver-plated cutlery, and serving dishes. As his company and trademarks grew in popularity, they were eventually taken over by larger companies, making it challenging to identify his work.
How to identify Original Wm Silverware?
Silver Marks
American sterling silver markings commonly contain the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith. These marks were used to identify the maker of a piece of silver and indicate who was responsible for its quality. The mark is not mandatory on American sterling silver but is often found to differentiate between different pieces made by different parties. This is an excellent example of sterling silver, and it indicates that the silver is pure and is not mixed with any other metals. It also provides information about the maker and date of manufacture if you examine it closely.
However, William Rogers was associated with several different companies during different years, making it difficult to identify original pieces. A sterling silver piece often has a company name and year engraved. When looking at them, see if there is also one or two initials of his name or the name of a company he is associated with (William Roger & Son). The Wm Rogers hallmark was used to mark silverware and other products William Rogers made. The hallmark includes a letter “W” and then either an “M” or an “H”.
Silver Patterns
Rogers was a true artist who created hundreds of silver patterns. His work was so intricate that it took him many hours to complete each design. If you find a silver mark on a piece, it is more likely that he designed the pattern of the pieces. Compare the years he was alive, the piece’s manufactured date, and the design creation. Refer to the guides that help you to identify the pattern. The “Silverplated Flatware- An Identification and Value Guide” by Tere Hagan is a perfect tool for identifying Wm Rogers Silver Patterns.
How do you date Wm Rogers silver?
When identifying your antique silver pieces, it is crucial to understand what their hallmark signifies. Several different types of marks can be found on any given item, and they can provide valuable insight when identifying them. These symbols indicate the year, made, and who made the item. This guide will help you identify these hallmarks.
Reading – The silver hallmarks identification process is much more difficult on older pieces because the hallmark may not be as evident as it once was due to age or damage. Silver, such as jewellery, can rust and become difficult to identify. Silver is a soft metal that oxidizes and becomes darker in colour over time, making it harder to determine the hallmarks of silver. One way to make it easier to by gently blowing on the piece because the warmth of your breath will cause condensation, making the mark clearer.
Common marks – It is good to be familiar with the common marks on silver pieces. The lion passant is the mark for sterling silver. If this mark isn’t there, the piece is mostly silver plated. You can find more common hallmarks like town marks date letters online.
History of Silver – You can tell the year of a hallmark by reading it. Duty marks were made between 1784 and 1890. If you are looking for the king’s head on a coin, you’re looking for the mark from when it was his coronation. If you’re looking for a queen’s head, then that mark would be from her coronation. You can use this information in appraisals of your most prized possessions. Also, you can use this information on the internet to identify antique items.
Is Wm Rogers silverware worth anything?
First of all, know the difference between different types of silvers. Silverware is made with sterling silver, 925, fine silver, silver plate and stainless steel. Rogers sterling is pure silver. However, if you find an item with plated silver, it is not pure silver.
To estimate the value of your WM Rogers silverware, you need to know the age, manufacturer, place of origin, significance and reality of the item.
If you identify the items to be marked as Stainless, Triple Plate, IS, Silver, EPNS, etc., your items are made from stainless steel, electroplated, or silver plated. These items are beautiful but not valuable.
How do you tell if Wm Rogers is plate or sterling?
If the flatware is sterling, it will be marked sterling. The flatware is old and it pre-dates the mandatory hallmarking. If there is no mark of sterling it is more likely to be a silver plate.
By law, silverware made in the US, Sterling, must be clearly marked as such if possible.
Most WM Rogers is silver plate. If it is sterling silver, it will be marked with Ster, Sterling or 925. Look on the back of a spoon. sterling spoons usually mark “STERLING”. IF it says triple plate or quadruple plate, then it’s silver plated.
If it’s Rogers, then it’s Ivory Soap and plate. If you want to be sure, weigh the spoons and forks together, then multiply the weight by the price of silver for whatever unit you’re using. Now go to a pawn shop with the spoons and forks, and they will exactly say if it is valuable or not.
About 97 times out of 100, Rogers will be plate. Rogers made a lot of silver plates throughout their history. Probably tens of millions of pieces. In general, and its many iterations and name variations over the years, Rogers is not high dollar silverware. While not necessarily the highest quality, Rogers is a reputable maker, and it’s extremely unlikely that they would fail to mark their cutlery if it were sterling. Where Rogers is concerned, unless it’s marked as sterling, then it’s not sterling.
The best way to tell if anything is a plate or not is to look at the back of the piece and look for words like “A1”, “EPNS”, “Par Plate”, “Brazil”, “Prata 90”, “Process Patent” etc. it’s most definitely plate. Another was is silver plates will wear away with time, exposing the interior metal (typically brass) with a yellowish tint. Other kinds of metal, like nickel silver, will be harder to tell since it’s grey. It’s not as shiny as silver, even when polished. Also, green corrosion is a tell since it comes from the copper content in the base metal. Silver will always tarnish greyish-black, never green.
Last but not least, look for the word “sterling” or the numbers 925, 900, or 800. These are far and away from the most common percentages of silver. If it’s not marked with anything like this, it’s almost certainly not sterling.
Wm rogers silverware value
If you are asking because you need to ensure a bunch of silverware, you’ll need a formal valuation from a professional. Call a jeweller for good recommendations there.
When they made sterling silver, or 92.5% pure silver, they marked it, International Sterling. Silver plating has next to no cash value as it costs far more to remove and process it than it’s worth. Another standard marking in silverware is W.M. Rogers or Rogers and Son.
We found the prices on eBay for “Eternally Yours Rogers Rogers Silverware” for the price range of $235 – $295.
