You can obviously try Ebay or Craigslist. If you have access to Ebay, check to see what sterling sets are selling for.

It probably depends on how old the set is & what's in it. In the mid-Atlantic where they were made, older sets of Kirk-Steiff repoussed patterns are usually in demand due to popularity & high quality.

Thanks for the advice. BTW, I'm a photographer, took this picture for the fun of it!

Great photo - no easy task with silver - & what looks like a part of a very nice set. Far too nice to be melted down, IMO.

Why is it useless for you? Nobody said you can't use it for everyday.

Kind of you to say. I've been a pro photographer for many years, that's what I do. We use some of the serving pieces but frankly, I hate the small round bowls of the soup spoons! Either way, the money would come in far handier than the sterling. We inherited these years ago along with some gorgeous plates, a magnificent coffee pot, etc. They just sit, untouched. I agree that melting them down would be nuts and venture a guess that who we'd bring these to would not melt them but sell the items as is. I may try ebay if I do anything at all.

My brother works parttime in a coin shop that buys silver and gold objects also. When presented with sterling items, they weigh the piece/s, and multiply the weight by .925; this gives them the true silver content. That amount is multiplied by the price of silver that day, and that is called the 'melt' value, meaning if it was melted down at a refinery, the silver value of the piece. They then offer about 80% of the melt price to the customer. Usually no consideration is given for workmanship, etc. He said he has seen absolutely gorgeous stuff headed to the refiners. He likened it to working in a pet shelter; he wants to take all of it home....

Put the current price at Silver Queen or Antiques Cupboard when you offer it for sale. With all the interest in Tea and Victoriana you should surely be able to sell these at or above the price for just the silver. Maybe use the word tea in the listing and do a pretty picture similar to the ones you see in Southern Lady, Tea Time or Victoria Magazines. I like your creative picture, but I think something romantic would sell better. Make it a Valentine's theme or try again for Easter or Mother's Day.

I sold a set on eBay last year. It had 64 pieces (a different pattern than yours) made about 1948 and looked unused. I got over $2000 for it.

Lots of patterns are only worth their silver value on ebay, but not Baltimore Rose. Definitely worth selling as a set, or in groups of 6 forks, 6 spoons, etc. Do weigh your pieces and put that in your ads, though, because weight is an indication of quality.

Check out Replacements Ltd to see what they're selling your pattern for. You won't get that much on ebay, but it can give you some kind of a baseline.

BTW if you like the pattern but just don't like the little soup spoons, you can buy bigger ones. They come in bouillon size (5-1/2"), cream soup (6") and gumbo (7"). I agree the bouillon size is pointless.

Laura

Here is a link that might be useful: Baltimore Rose at Replacements Ltd