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Jin Muchen looked up at the stall selling trinkets, and saw that it was a stall selling silverware.

It's strange, what flashed in front of my eyes just now was an indescribable golden light, why did all the silver I saw on this booth be silverware?

Jin Muchen was suspicious, although he was already very hungry at this time, he didn't want to miss the baby, so he stopped.

As soon as he stopped, Candace had no choice but to stop: "What, does Mu Chen like anything good again?" ”

"Well, I like it, but I'm a little unsure, why don't you go eat first, just bring me some back after eating, I'll wait for you here."

Jin Muchen said to Candace, although Candace was a little reluctant, but he was still very obedient, and went alone, she knew Jin Muchen's temperament, if he took a fancy to something and didn't get it, he would definitely not be willing to leave.

And this guy is a big-bellied man, if he is hungry for a while, he will definitely be hungry and panicked, so from the perspective of concern, she still thinks that she should go and get Jin Muchen some food first.

Candace went looking for something to eat, and Jin Muchen came to the stall, the stall owner was a dark-skinned Latina who didn't know where he came from, and spoke English with a distinct accent.

However, the things on his stall are very positive, Jin Muchen likes it very much, and he pays attention to the silverware on the stall. While carefully searching for the source of the dazzling golden light.

Although it has not been found for a while. But he can be sure. That golden light is certainly not what can be shown on these silver objects.

Anyway, he was not in a hurry, he began to look for it slowly, not to mention this search, there are many silverware in this stall that are really good things, all of them are real guys from the previous year.

When he first started his antiques business, he bought a set of silverware from the antique market in New York. Later, he gave it to Rick, and since then, he has also made up for a lot of knowledge about silverware.

Antique silverware is a precious metal with traditional monetary significance, but also a cultural relic, occupies an important position in the international collection market, Sotheby's, Christie's holds silver auctions every year.

For domestic collectors, antique silverware is a new field, but as Chinese collectors begin to go abroad and explore the world, they have gradually begun to like this kind of collection. In China, the collection of silverware has also become popular, even in Puhai. In Yangcheng and other places, there are constantly antique silverware auctioned.

In addition, China itself has a rich history of making and using silverware, but in the current international collection market, fine antique silverware, which is mainly Japanese and Western, is more popular among collectors.

And to judge whether an antique silverware is worth collecting, there are three elements, the first is to look at the origin, the second is to look at the purity, and the third is to look at the history!

The so-called reading of origin is actually looking at the silverware, which was not used by the royal family and nobles at that time.

Because the royal custom silverware and the silverware used by the "noble" families, the shape and craftsmanship are more exquisite, which is similar to the quality of the official kiln porcelain in Chinese cultural toys.

Especially in early European society, silver was always owned by churches or aristocrats, and its use was not only a symbol of wealth, but also a symbol of noble status.

The second is to look at the purity!

Silver is a soft metal, and a certain amount of copper must be added during the casting process to increase the hardness. In order to avoid the fluctuation of the content of sterling silver in the alloy, each country has its own standard for purity and has a special mark to match it. Countries around the world have different national standards for silver content, which determines the difference in the fineness of silverware.

In terms of silver content per kilogram, the British standard is 925, and the French old silverware has the highest silver content, known as 950 silver. There are 800 and 900 in Germany, 930 or 830 in Sweden and Denmark, and 840 or 750 in Russia. The silver content of the silverware can be determined by finding their corresponding sterling silver markings. Generally speaking, the higher the purity of silver, the higher its value, and the greater its collectible value.

In addition, antique Western silverware often uses guò different coats of arms to identify the region and time of production of the silverware, and is stamped with the stamp of the silversmith inspection agency in each region.

For example, the British silver purity standard stipulates that silver products must contain 92.5% silver and 2.5% copper in order to be called "standard sterling silver", and the sterling silver symbol is a lion, commonly known as "leopard's head".

This "leopard head" is known as the walking lion in England, the standing lion in Scotland, and the crown in Ireland.

The third is to look at history!

For collectors, if you want to collect silverware for fun, you need to understand the culture and history of antique silverware.

The production of European silverware has always been linked to the artistic style of the whole society, from the early Gothic with religious overtones, to the rhythmic Baroque, the luxurious Rococo, etc., the outstanding artistic style of silverware is undoubtedly the epitome of the culture and artistic level of an era, and such antique silverware is also more collectible.

At present, the more sought-after antique silverware on the market is basically produced in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Japan and other countries, but the British silverware is the most popular, especially the silverware of the Victorian period, which is the most popular antique silverware.

And the most unpopular is Russian silverware, mainly because there are too many counterfeit products about Russian silver, when the Russian tsar in order to imitate the taste of those cousins in Western Europe, but also let the court foundry cast a lot of exquisite silverware, but unfortunately later in the Stalin era, those silverware were forcibly recycled by the government, and recast into a badge or medal, so now the real Russian Tsarist silver on the market is very pitiful.

Jin Muchen began to look at the silverware on the stall in front of him according to the three elements of how to collect antique silverware summarized by his predecessors.

This look really shows a few sets of very good things, such as the one on the middle shelf of the stall, a set of 'chinoiserie' sterling silver coffee pots in London, England in the 19th century.

Even the coffee pot, with milk jug and sugar jug, a total of three sets, are octagonal shaped, and the body of the pot is carved with obvious Chinese-style patterns.

For example, the coffee pot is carved with the pattern of pavilions, while the milk pot is carved with plum blossoms and bamboo, and the sugar pot is carved with the pattern of some landscape figures.

Although it is not purely made in China, it can be seen that the British craftsmen at that time were still very careful when making this set of coffee pots.

At least the carvings of these Chinese elements are very beautiful, and there is no sense of nondescript disobedience, and they must have been peeled down according to the patterns on the porcelain exported from China to Western Europe at that time.

"A set of 19th century London 'chinoiserie' coffee pots, the production date should be between 1847 and 1848, using sterling silver, you see the leopard head stamp on it is very clear, the total weight is about 2200 grams, how about it? Sir, do you still like this? ”

The Latino boss didn't know when he came to Jin Muchen's side and introduced him to the set of coffee pots he was staring at.

"How much?"

Jin Muchen basically didn't hesitate, and directly asked the price.

"Three thousand dollars."

The owner was also unexpectedly crisp and the price was very reasonable.

"Wrap it up for me."

Jin Muchen said and shifted his gaze to another set of coffee pots, and this set of coffee pots looks much more beautiful than the previous set, saying beautiful is talking about shape, it looks like it can definitely be described as a dragon flying and phoenix dancing, compared to the slightly quaint coffee pot in front of it.

This coffee pot is also a three-piece set of coffee pot, sugar pot and milk jug.

However, the Chinese style of this coffee pot looks much more obvious than the previous set, the handle of the coffee pot is a dragon attached to the body of the pot, the dragon head is facing up, and the four grasps just form a contact with the body of the pot, which becomes the handle.

There are also various shapes of ancient Chinese characters on the body of the big pot, including a knight who gallops back on horseback to announce the good news, and a family member who is overjoyed to welcome out of the house.

The pattern on the milk jar and the sugar jar is a continuation of the annunciation picture, and the milk jar is the lively scene of the family's senior soldier brother going home to save his relatives, and the family is holding a banquet.

The pattern on the sugar jar is the pattern of the soldier brother entering the cave room.

In short, the patterns on a set of coffee pots are connected, and it is a comedy story of fame and family reunion, which looks very festive.

The coffee pot is round, the workmanship on it is beautiful, every detail is handled very well, the pattern is very much, the silverware commonly used brushed, bracketed, trenched, welded, polished, blue and emerald, etc. can be seen on these three pieces of coffee pot, which shows the craftsman's intentions when making this set of coffee pots.

Finally, on the bottom of the pot, Jin Muchen actually saw the traces of WH85, and when he saw these Jin Muchen, he basically understood that this should be the silverware sold by the thirteen banks of Yangcheng back then.

The WH was the trademark of Kunhexing, which was very famous in Yangcheng at that time, and the 85 should be in accordance with the requirements of foreigners, and the Arabic numerals with silver content were marked on it.

Kunhe was one of the most well-known firms in Yangcheng at that time, and was particularly famous in silverware manufacturing, and Shanghao at that time was an expert firm in silverware manufacturing in China.

Unexpectedly, hundreds of years later, their works actually ended up in the United States, and as a Chinese, encountering such a set of silverware is certainly not to be missed.

"Boss, how much does this set of silverware cost?"

"This set is also three thousand!"

"Okay, wrap it up for me!"

Jin Muchen didn't even blink an eye, and said directly to the boss. (To be continued......)