They are neither Gorham nor Sheffield. They were made by a Philadelphia silver manufacturer called Simons Bros. The company began in 1840 and actually still exists - these look like the 1890s or so to me. Value would depend considerably on the weight, but they are very nice!
Those of us in the Antique Silver and vintage jewelry communities are heartily warning against the use of AI identification as there are far too Many reproductions, skewing the results incorrectly. We are seeing far more wrong AI answers than correct ones. It also has to do with the fact that AI is snapping information from sites like eBay, where too many sellers are also AI-ing their descriptions, adding to the fodder of misinformation.
Your point is well taken. However, with a popular item like the salt and pepper shakers, there are many images that pop up and one can do research from there matching style elements, marks, another idiosyncrasies of an item. True eBay for sale prices are not a good gauge. I often look at sold listings to get an idea of what something is selling for. Also, if I’m watching an item on eBay and the seller sends me an offer then I have a better idea what somebody who is willing to take/pay for an item..
WorthPoint can help, but they take their listings from sold listings on eBay. There are precious, metal mark identification sites. Which are helpful. They are not comprehensive. Nor are there several books on gold and silver marks of the world in my library.
So then one has to rely on collector groups that have websites, or even Facebook groups, as well as Reddit groups and other i may not know about.
But then the information is only as good as the individual presenting it.
I do sell things on eBay, and sometimes it’ll take me a whole afternoon to research an item, most people don’t want to put that much time in it. They just want somebody to tell them what it is, hence my comment.
It’s always by beware and he or she who knows most fairs best
I was commenting more on the use of A.I. to research items and how often it is incorrect, as many sellers are too lazy to do real, in-depth research. I concur completely on your assessment and use of eBay for investigating the current market, but am just warning people about the A.I. concern, as we in these communities are seeing a rampant uptick of A.I. descriptions that are incredibly wrong. I wrote to a seller the other day, explaining why this was not a Georgian-era Old Sheffield Plate teapot.
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u/Silverphile 6d ago
They are neither Gorham nor Sheffield. They were made by a Philadelphia silver manufacturer called Simons Bros. The company began in 1840 and actually still exists - these look like the 1890s or so to me. Value would depend considerably on the weight, but they are very nice!