Silver Plate

The Cardiffian

The Cardiffian

At the Start
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
82
Location
CARDIFF
I have in my possession a 9" solid silver plate, engraved with the racehorse Brigadier Gerard and stamped 1972. Can anybody put a price on it please.
Signed by B LANDER.

Regards,

Terry.
 
I have no idea, Terry, but if you contact one of the big auction houses they'll give you some idea. You need to speak to someone who deals with the sporting memorabilia auctions. I know that Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips all hold specialist auctions of this type.
 
It can be easy to misread a signature if you don't know what you're looking for - I've seen Doris Lindner pieces on e-bay before with the signature completely misinterpreted.
 
dragons_den.jpg


I'm out...
 
Having the box and the certificate is essential when asking a good price. The condition is paramount as well. The item must not be scratched or dented. The browsers price is a bit steep . I have seen a lot of these on ebay recently. I don't think the top auctioneers would be that interested in such a piece as it is not rare. Your local auctioneer is worth a go, but beware the charges involved.
 
Yes - usually 16% of whatever you get, Terry. Best to do up a 'mixed lot' of similarly-themed items that you don't want, if you've got them. You know, any horse picture plates, mugs, the odd old pairs of bins, or a book on Brig. Gerard if there is one - if not, a decent photo in a frame, maybe? Then you bung a reserve on the stuff for what you want it to sell for (remembering the auction house's commission).

I'm about to do this with a load of Mum's stuff which she can't possibly fit into the nursing home, and some of my own. The auction houses like items of a similar ilk, say mixed crystal ware, in a 'lot', rather than in individual pieces.

Terry, if you're friends with anyone who deals in your area, say a second-hand furniture dealer or similar, you might ask them if they'd put the piece/s in for you, as they only have to pay a 12% commission on whatever they sell through auction. You'd save yourself a fair bit, especially if you have a good sweep of the house and chuck in a load! ;)
 
I am about to do the same too Krizon. I have a room full of stuff that may be going to auction. I am really looking forward to it and have been watching "Flog It" for the last few weeks just to get a very rough idea of what sells and what doesn't. I may try with a few pieces on Ebay to see how they sell. I have just opened my first Sellers account on Ebay and will sell my first piece (hopefully) in the next few weeks.

Best of luck The Cardiffian. I have quite a bit of silver that I am selling, and I will let you know how it goes.
 
Good luck, Kathy. I love going to auctions, though it's some time since I did. Whatever doesn't sell, and comes back, I'll car boot at Plumpton (they have one every Sunday that they don't race, only £8 to set up a stall), and I quite enjoy either going to them or doing them. In the reduced living space I'm now in, it's going to be just the latter, though, until I get things down to a minim!

Between us, we have something like 60 or 80 pictures (I lost count!), which won't fit into my one-bedroom flat and her one small room in the nursing home! And some of them are whoppers, too, so must go. It's sad, since most represent certain times in our lives, but in the end one has to be a bit Attila about it all.
 
I would not put this particular item in a job lot - it has the potential to do well enough on its own, even though it will be worth less, as Dim said, because of the lack of certificate and box - and it may be best to look out for a specialist auctioneer. This is a very specific item with a very specific market and it will be of more interest to a collector of racing memorabilia, or an afficionado of Doris Lindner, than to a collector of silver.
 
It needs to go in a themed sale, though, doesn't it? I wouldn't suggest a job lot, but if it doesn't have any authentication (i.e., it could be any old bit of plate inscribed by a fan or a fraud!), it's best in a themed sale or offered to Sotheby's, as was suggested. Its problem is that it has no provenance to speak of, i.e., it's not being offered by the horse's connections.

Muttley, thinking about authenticating such items, how would one prove that a person had NOT just bought an appropriate piece of plain plate and had it engraved falsely with what would be 'worthwhile' information on it? For example, what would prevent me from buying a big crystal bowl at an auction, having an engraver put 'Sea Bird II - Winner, The Derby, Epsom, 1965, ridden by T.P. Glennon' on it, and offer it for auction with some barmy reserve on it? And if I trawled a few junk shops, I'd possibly find a well-aged large box that I could bung it in, to make it seem more authentic. Are such faked items often offered?
 
With something like this, it probably wouldn't be worth the effort of forging it, to be honest as this is a commemorative plate produced and sold in some numbers, not an actual trophy. One-offs with a greater potential value, like a trophy for a specific race, would need some sort of provenance with them to reach top wack.
 
(Puts large crystal bowl back into cupboard.) Thinks: "Damn!"

Cheers, Muttley - interesting stuff, isn't it? What price for a pair of VERY OLD Jockey Club de Paris binoculars, probably c.1900?? No, seriously, would they be something that should go into a 'sporting memorabilia' sale?
 
I know old binoculars are - but old Jockey Club de Paris? :blink: IS there a Jockey Club de Paris any more, by the way?
 
Back
Top