Hi my name is john im new on here, i have this item, been looking on the net i think is Sterling silver and made in birmingham but thats all i know, what does bb and f mean, i would like to know and is it just worth scrap?
Yes, this is sterling silver and it was assayed (not necessarily made) in Birmingham. BB is the sponsor’s or maker’s mark and stands for Barker Brothers who were Birmingham silversmiths. The anchor is the town mark for Birmingham and the lion passant indicates sterling silver (92.5% pure silver). The letter f is the date letter and shows that your tray was assayed in the 1905/06 assay year. The tray looks to be in good condition so should certainly be worth more than scrap value. Value does, of course, depend on size so it would be useful to know the diameter and weight. Also, although you call it a tray, if it has feet it becomes a salver or waiter. That is also significant in determining value. In order to get a ball-park value I always check out completed auctions on eBay. You could do the same.
thank for reply its 13 Oz and and about 7" and it also has 3 legs
I would call this a waiter. A rough valuation (what you might get if you sold it) would be £120-£150.