A man was shocked after he took silverware his mom gave to him, to Antiques Roadshow: The silver spoons he inherited—and had kept for 20 years—turned out to be a real treasure.
He had a feeling because of the stories he had heard in his family: “From what I understand these spoons were part of story time,” he said to the appraiser Christopher Barber. Those stories would bring up a famous name in Boston: Revere. And he wasn’t wrong; “These are marked with the name Revere,” the expert said, showing the mark near the handle of each of the six spoons.
How the expert connected the dots
Besides the “Revere” seal, each spoon has the inicial “AA” graved on it. What did that mean? Barber connected those letters to the Amory family in Boston—particularly to Anna Amory. And he then backed up this information with documents: “Paul Revere’s record books show a great deal of silver made for Anna Amory and [her] family in 1796,” he explained. He also pointed out that big part of that silverware had the same engraving, which meant even more the set was original and from the same order.
The size were also very important: The spoons are approximately seven and a quarter of an inch (something very specific between a teaspoon and a soup spoon). It’s a size that’s not that common actually. As Barber said, “We’d call these a small tablespoon, rarer than teaspoons and rarer than tablespoons, but tablespoons are still more desirable.” For those who are not familiar with antiques; in that world, rarity and coherence—same engraving, same workshop, same period—pushes the value all the way up.
Why are they worth so much?
Silverware is more about identity: Who used it? Why? For what? A famous name like Revere put the pieces in the history of the United States: Paul Revere, the man in question, was famous for his “midnight horse-rides” in 1775, his father, Paul Revere Sr., and himself were also recognized silversmiths and recorders. All of this contributes to a set that catches the attention of collectors, it all becomes about pieces with consistent marks—for a real client at the time, more story behind and therefore, more value.
After a while inspecting the silverware, and looking carefully at every single detail, Barber gave his verdict: At auction, the set could reach between $20,000 and $30,000. To secure the pieces, he recommended an even higher value: $50,000. The owner’s reaction was spontaneous and even of course, understandable: “Wow, that’s amazing—that’s amazing.” He said.
And Antiques Roadshow knows what they are talking about, they have found incredible finds in the past, including a silver tray that was purchased for $500 in 1957 but is actually worth about $12,000; a coin discovered on the grandfather’s farm was valued at $30,000; and an inherited pocket watch was valued at $30,000.
What do to if you inherit objects
What can we learn from this lesson?
- Before cleaning, polishing, or giving away, look very, very closely, if there are stamps, initials, dates, or signs out of the ordinary.
- Documents, a family note, a photo, a memory of who used it helps preserve the story behind the object. Anything that can add context and proof value.
- Insurance value is higher because it covers the difficulty of replacing something rare, while auction valuations are based on the actual bid.
The next time you find an old piece somewhere at your house or in an inherited box, look at it calmly. Maybe, like these spoons, it’s waiting for that lucky one to discover its true story.