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Fakes in the Silver and Gold Trade - A Few Examples

I wanted to write today about something that happens from time to time to dealers-- even with pretty sharp eyes. Fakes. The fact is that almost all dealers have bought fakes. You won't see that many articles, because it's embarrassing and dealers think telling people about screw ups might hurt the reputation. The fact is, publishing these images may help others who are about to get burned or who will remember these examples in the future. Have a good image of a fake? Send it along and I will add it to this post. Fake 1736 Spanish 8 Escudo Sometimes you get burned by a counterfeit-- or other times just valueless items that lend an appearance of being a good score. Sometimes these fakes are intentionally fake and sometimes they are not. But either way, if you have integrity you should never pass them along even as "replicas" and it would be better if you spotted them before you plunked down your cash and didn't buy them at all. N...

The Power of Silver Hallmarks

Hallmarks can be extremely powerful and important in silver. They tell the story of many pieces of silver that is absent on most other kinds of antiques. For the furniture enthusiast, there are sometimes paper labels or pencil mark signatures, but these are rare. For silver, the marks are often there, and when they are, you need to pay heed. The absence of a hallmark can also be significant but we'll get into that later. In this little article, I want to describe the non-US hallmarks that have been the most important to me in my business dealings. The photos are pieces I have bought and/or sold some of which are still available at Crescent City Connection in my silver section . I make a description of some of these marks and use many thematically similar pieces to give those descriptions. I don't claim these are the best of the best pieces, just items I've been able to trade. For me, at my current stage of collecting, nothing could be w...

Should I Use the College of Arms for Identifying a Coat of Arms or Crest?

The answer to whether you should hire The College of Arms in my opinion is a resounding NO . The services they provided me were less than worthless, and of very questionable integrity. I would be loathe to level words against this organization like fraudulent or criminal, but taking money and providing nothing in return in every other business dealing I've ever been engaged in would be considered unacceptable and dishonorable. Yet, this is precisely what they may ask you to accept. But, so you fully understand how valueless is the service they provide, I have chronicled it here so hopefully if you choose to wire them money, you'll understand the very real risk that they will keep your money and do nothing for you except provide lip service. Here's some background. The College of Arms in London , "...maintains registers of arms, pedigrees, genealogies, Royal Licences, changes of name, and flags." The heralds are appointed by the Queen of England. This group...

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