Refurbishing question

[lentel]

I recently won an award silver tray and set of 9 glasses(gobbets). Anyway there are a couple of scratches , dings and some permanent tarnish. I was thinking of having it repaired and resilvered but it has some signifigance. Will refurbishing it devalue it or will it make it worth more. I just like things on display cleaned up.
Any advice or help is appreciated.

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by lentel

I recently won an award silver tray and set of 9 glasses(gobbets). Anyway there are a couple of scratches , dings and some permanent tarnish. I was thinking of having it repaired and resilvered but it has some signifigance. Will refurbishing it devalue it or will it make it worth more. I just like things on display cleaned up.
Any advice or help is appreciated.

You're probably looking for a clear cut definitive answer, however restoration is a gray/subjective area. Subjective to you, and subjective to potential buyers....everyone is likely to have a different preference...Some collectors will likely feel strongly one way or the other...

A silver tray and 9 goblets sound sophisticated, but you don't mention who the set was awarded to or even what sport. Are we talking about a bowling league award from Des Moines or Mickey Mantle’s freshman year MVP with the Whiz Kids?...generally the more important the trophy the more cautious you'd want to be restoring it.

Subject to the forgoing...I suppose the short answer would be.... if you were the end buyer and you want to fully enjoy it in your own collection, I'd say go ahead and restore it.

[pgellis]

I agree with Carlton.

I would say that if you are interested in "preserving value", then I would leave it alone. By not doing anything to it, you cannot lessen the current value. But, by trying to restore it, you could potentiallly ruin the finish, engraving, etc. and devalue the pieces.

If you are not worried about "value" (which must be a concern since you mentioned it), then restoring it to a finish that you are happy with is the way to go.

It sounds like you want an outcome that will straddle both of the above criteria and I don't think there is a simple answer for that.

[lentel]

Originally Posted by CarltonHendricks

You're probably looking for a clear cut definitive answer, however restoration is a gray/subjective area. Subjective to you, and subjective to potential buyers....everyone is likely to have a different preference...Some collectors will likely feel strongly one way or the other...

A silver tray and 9 goblets sound sophisticated, but you don't mention who the set was awarded to or even what sport. Are we talking about a bowling league award from Des Moines or Mickey Mantle’s freshman year MVP with the Whiz Kids?...generally the more important the trophy the more cautious you'd want to be restoring it.

Subject to the forgoing...I suppose the short answer would be.... if you were the end buyer and you want to fully enjoy it in your own collection, I'd say go ahead and restore it.

Thanks for the imput. The award is not prewar but vintage. It is Lew Burdette 1960 no hitter presentation award from the Braves owner to him for his no hitter against the phillies.

[Vintagecatcher]

I recently purchased a 1924 catcher figural trophy with D&M logo from one of the board members. The trophy sat for many years in "The National Pastime" in Cooperstown, N.Y.

I purchased the trophy to be used as a display item in a display case in my living room. Since it had numerous areas of plate loss, I decided to send it off to a master silversmith to restore it to it's former glory.

I am confident that the end result will be great after reviewing the before and after photos posted on the silversmith's website.

Once I have the finished restored trophy back, I'll post pictures of the before and after photos. If you decide you would like to restore your items, I'll forward the silversmith's info to you.


Thanks,


Patrick

[CarltonHendricks]

Lentel, What the hay...you've gone this far...why not post mutiple good clear photos and let everyone post their vote yay or nay whether to restore or not restore!

[daffyslanding]

A general rule of thumb is "if in doubt, do nothing". IF you do decide to restore, you should document the "before" condition with photos so that if you ever do decide to buy you will be able to show the original condition. Keep your sales receipt of the restorer since this now would become part of the history of the piece and should always remain with the item where ever it would end up in the future. See if you can have the restorer remove dents and dings without needing to replate the item this would be a good halfway alternative.

[WWGjohn]

I agree, the general rule of thumb is, when in doubt, do nothing about replating old silver, if value is of concern. Polishing or even reattaching broken parts is one thing but actually replating lost silver is another. Most antique dealers will tell you not to replate antique items and, while this is not an antique, it is notable and valuable. I'd get an appraisal and expert opinions before replating.

John