The Silver Antiques Insider

Thinking Of Selling Your Antique Silver? Consider Nelson and Nelson

With the price of silver still high, people everywhere have been selling their unused antique silver and jewelry. At Nelson and Nelson, we understand that people often inherit antique sterling and antique silver or antique jewelry that may not be to their taste, or that is so infrequently used that it makes sense to sell it. This harrowing article demonstrates, however, how in the rush to unload unwanted antique silver and gold jewelry, people are unwittingly sending rare and priceless pieces to the smelter. “I would imagine 25-30% of our heritage of gold and silver antique jewelry has been scrapped in the last two years,” says one British auctioneer. 

So why sell to Nelson and Nelson? We take the time to properly value your antique silver and antique jewelry, and when we buy antique silver and gold we'll never, ever scrap your items. Instead, we'll lovingly curate them until the right buyer comes along. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

For more on how to sell us your antique silver, click here.

For more on how to sell us your antique jewelry, click here. 

Antique Sterling Silver Trophies Celebrate Important Moments In Life

News flash! A silver cup awarded to the Greek runner who won the first Olympic marathon in 1896 was sold for $865,000, Christie’s auction house in London said. Spyros Louis was presented with the cup, a silver medal, an antique vase, an olive branch and a diploma by King George I of Greece for his victory.

Antique sterling silver trophies honor fantastic accomplishments and future promises! Explore Nelson and Nelson's thoughtfully curated collection of beautiful antique silver trophies to celebrate the amazing milestones in the lives of your family and friends.

This two handled trophy cup from Currier & Roby, circa 1920, is wonderfully decorated with a stepped-decorated circular base and removable lid with two scroll-shaped applied handles. This trophy is hallmarked and in excellent condition. For more information, click here. 

Have a card player in your life? This charming late 19th-century Neoclassical sterling silver trophy by Tiffany & Co. features a V-shaped body on a spreading, circular base. The handles have a sharp upward curve and architectonic quality that creates a dramatic silhouette. The body is decorated with a laurel wreath forming a vacant (and monogrammable!) cartouche on one side and playing cards on the reverse. The trophy is marked under the base with the mark of Tiffany & Co., the words Makers, Sterling Silver 925-1000, pattern number 13220, order number 342, and the letter T for its founder Charles L. Tiffany, used from 1891-1902. For more information, click here. 

This is a beautiful sterling silver loving cup made by the American silversmiths at Reed & Barton has a wonderful Art Nouveau sensibility. The elegant design features a circular, cup-shaped body on a flaring shaped, circular base. The three side handles have a lovely, organic curve and are embellished with sculpturally rendered flowers and leafy vines. The base has a similarly decorated border with flowers and leaves. This trophy is in excellent condition, and has not been monogrammed. For more information, click here. 

Antique Silver Table Utensils Of A By-Gone Era

One of the delights of antique silver is finding items that were once considered de rigueur at any well-appointed table, like grape shears. These beautifully crafted antique sterling silver scissors were used to daintily nip off small bunches of grapes at dinner parties. When you're trading witty conversation with the duke or countess at your side, why paw at a cluster of glistening cluster of Red Globes or Muscats when you can snack in style? Grape shears were typically placed beside a bowl or board of the fruit, allowing guests to scissor off small portions. At Nelson and Nelson, we love the ornate decorative styles that the finest antique silver grape shears feature.



These sterling silver grape shears, circa 1910, portray a large head of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. The hallmarked sterling handles are adorned with floral buds and leaves, while the cutting blade is stainless steel.For more information, click here.



These circa 1910 Art Nouveau grape shears feature extra-heavy cast-silver handles that are intricately decorated with flowers, leaves, and scrolls. In excellent condition, they are hallmarked with the Reed and Barton symbol and marked sterling. For more information, click here.



What's a fancy pair of grape shears without the appropriate accompanying grape dish? This American sterling silver figural grape leaf dish was made by Redlich circa 1890. It is is beautifully formed, and features the delicate veins of a grape leaf. A looped grape vine emanating from the leaf serves as the grape shear holder. The dish is fully hallmarked with a nice patina, and is in excellent condition. For more information, click here.

Russian Antique Silver Treasure!

Some of the beautiful antique silver recently discovered in a Russian mansion, via

Talk about a treasure trove! Workers restoring a 19th-century mansion in St. Petersburg, Russia, recently made an extraordinary discovery: 

"[M]ore than 1,000 pieces of jewelry, silver service sets stamped with the name of one of Russia’s most prominent noble families, mirrors and brushes in silver frames. Many of them were wrapped in newspapers dated from the early months of 1917, as Russia careened toward the Bolshevik Revolution that ended life as the nobles had known it."

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Where will this extraordinary antique silver collection go? The renovators of the palace, which served as a workers' canteen during the Soviet Union, would like to put them on display in a new cultural center on site. Meanwhile, the head of a regional Communist organization is applying for ownership, claiming that the stash was nationalized property under the U.S.S.R. 

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For more on this remarkable antique silver discovery, click here.