I think that it means certain small parts of the tray, possibly the mounts for the handles which might take heavier than normal wear are solid silver as opposed to being plated.
Do these two silverware companies use sterling silver or silverplate: Internationl & co., and Imperial.
sterling I have a set of Wm Rogers & Son AA in front of me and it is definitely silverplate. So it is not necessarily sterling.
The A1 mark indicates the piece is silverplate. For more information, see Related Questions, below.
In the US, sterling silver will ALWAYS be hallmarked with the word "sterling" or "925." Silver plated will never be hallmarked. Anything plated with a precious metal, no matter how thick the plating, will never be hallmarked.Neither sterling nor silverplate is magnetic, unless the plating is over a steel or iron core, which is rarely the case.
Price is dependent on many variables and opinions vary. It depends on who made the tray, the tray's age, size, provenance of the tray, condition, desirability of the design, and whether the tray is a step above the common silver-plated tray (what embellishments does it have). Trays that have STERLING SILVER mounts are higher quality and the price would be affected by the amount of sterling added to the tray. Sterling mounts could refer to the trim around the edges (rope border), feet, handles, knobs and other decoration. A large, heavy, clean, vintage tray by a good maker with sterling mounts, in a well advertised auction where interested buyers know the item is at auction could bring $450+ compared to a solid silver tray of the same size which goes for thousands. In a retail shop in a good location, a large beautiful tray with sterling mounts could retail for more than the auction price.
IS stands for International Silver (Company). FB Rogers, Wm Rogers, and Rogers Bros. (or Rogers & Sons) were some of the American silverplate manufacturers that were combined into the International Silver Company in 1898. The IS mark indicates the flatware is silverplate, rather than sterling.
Fifth Avenue Silver Co., Inc. - Taunton, MA established 1948-50 manufacturers of both sterling and silverplate items
No. Jewelry stamped 925, .925 or "sterling" is genuine sterling, not silverplate.
silverplate
EPS=Electro-Plated-Silver, also the stamp EPNS=Electro-Plated-Nickel-Silver. This is a base metal unfortunately, beneath a silvery skin.
I have a full set of WM A. Rogers AA heavy Oneida LTD. Flatware... It says on the back of the knives "STAINLESS". I hope this answers your question. I have a similar set of flatware and the "Stainless" on the knife means the blade is stainless. However, the handle and other parts of set could be stainless or silverplate. WM A Rogers did mostly silver plated flatware, not sterling silver. If it tarnishes it is most likely silver-plated.
silverplate!