Collectors often seek out specific makers or regions, such as Kentucky, Tennessee, or South Carolina silver. Historically, sets of cups had a tendency not to stay together, so typically you'll find single pieces. Slight variances in styles and motifs differentiate the cups, including banding along the rim and base and engraved or unadorned surfaces. Some dings are to be expected, although general condition does factor into the cup's value. Do your homework to avoid paying overpaying.
*Familiarize yourself with the names of prominent silversmiths. "Don't assume that the name on the bottom was the maker; often it was the retailer," says Erbes. "Sometimes others will overstrike a maker's mark, and you'll find that it was really a jeweler."
*Check to see that the applied moldings haven't been replaced, and make sure you aren't looking at a mug with its handles gone. There aren't a lot of repairs that can be made to the cups, but lead solder along a leaky bottom will affect a cup's value.
*Check for a vertical solder seam along the back of the cup. "Typically the silver sheath was put over a mandrel, soldered, and buffed, but sometimes the provincial silversmiths didn't bother to buff out the seam," says Kathy Moses Shelton of Shelton Gallery. "I kind of like to see that seam--it underscores that it was handmade."
o Look at the bottom of the cup to help date it. Cups turned, rather than hammered, will have concentric circles along the base. "Later cups were turned," says Pat Burnett of Wakefield-Scearce Galleries. "This probably began around 1840."
