How Do You Determine the Value of Rogers Brothers Silverware?
Online auction sites, sell-by-owner sites, antiques dealers and silverware resellers are good sources for valuing Rogers Brothers silverware. Complete sets in excellent condition in their original hardwood chests command the best prices. There were so many Rogers silver companies in late 19th-century America that it was hard to keep track of them. However, for valuing Rogers Brothers silverware, it’s useful to know that almost all of the flatware produced by companies named Rogers is low-worth silver-plate, not valuable sterling.
The various Rogers and Rogers Brothers silverware companies were bought up around the same time by two main silver-plate manufacturers, International Silver and Oneida, but the individual companies continued to use their own marks for some patterns. Most of the flatware produced was less expensive silver-plate.
1847 Rogers Brothers is one well-known silver-plate mark that indicates the year the original company was founded, not the year the flatware was manufactured. An additional “IS” mark after the Rogers name on the backs of spoons and forks stands for International Sterling. Real sterling silver is marked with the word “STERLING” or the number 925, for the 92.5 percentage of silver required for the sterling designation. Any piece with a sterling mark may be reliably valued by a certified appraiser or a jeweler specializing in silverware.
Patterns and manufacturers’ marks for Rogers Brothers silverware may be matched to photographs online at resellers’ sites. Those sites and online auction sites give a reasonable estimate of market value for Rogers Brothers silver-plate.