Appraisal: Late 19th-Century European Silver Figurines

GUEST: My great-grandfather worked for Standard Oil in New Jersey and was sent to Europe in some sort of official capacity.

APPRAISER: Yeah.

GUEST: And they lived in London.

And when they were there, they bought a bunch of stuff, you know?

APPRAISER: Yup.

GUEST: From furniture to painting to clocks to silver.

So I'm assuming that they bought these items when they were there.

APPRAISER: And that was probably in the early part of the 20th century, maybe...

Early part of the 20th century.

GUEST: Yeah.

Late part of the 19th century.

APPRAISER: Great.

They're all sterling silver, made in Europe in the late 19th century.

These three here were made probably on the continent, most likely in Germany.

And this one here was made in England.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: What it really appeals to me is that they're a cohesive collection.

They're really whimsical.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: They're very collectible today.

Particularly the jester, with the semiprecious jewels, this nautilus shell as his belly, his curled shoes coming up.

His hat.

All of it just very, very whimsical.

When we look at the cat, the same thing.

I mean, look at these earrings.

GUEST: Yeah, the... APPRAISER: I mean, how...

GUEST: The cat is... APPRAISER: ...hysterical.

GUEST: ...wonderful.

Yeah, yeah.

APPRAISER: Really, really funny.

And they're in remarkable shape.

You've taken very good care of them.

GUEST: So are there any marks on any of them that you saw?

APPRAISER: There, there are some marks on the front two pieces here.

There's a little, a European mark on the bottom, and I say, I'm pretty sure it's German.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: It's really hard to tell.

And really, the manufacturer isn't as important as the fact that they are late 19th century...

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: ...that they're silver, and that they are figural and kind of whimsical figures.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: These three here, being European continental, would be 800-grade silver.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: Which is 800 parts per thousand...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...as opposed to the American and English grade, which is usually 925 parts.

GUEST: Oh, oh.

APPRAISER: And this oxen here does have an, a British hallmark.

And we can see the series of hallmarks right on the top of the neck.

GUEST: So that would be sterling?

APPRAISER: This is a sterling grade.

GUEST: Sterling, uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And the others would be an 800-grade silver, which is slightly less.

GUEST: Grade, okay.

APPRAISER: They're a little softer silver.

I think individually, the values might be somewhere between $3,000 and $4,000 each.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: But as a collection, I'd say it's probably worth $20,000, maybe even $25,000, at auction today.

GUEST (laughs): I'm... What do you say?

(both laugh) GUEST: That makes you speechless.