Hi, My dad bought this belt buckle in the US a very long time ago. Could people help identify the Sterling hallmarks? It’s a pretty heavy belt buckle 4 oz.
thank you
Mexican silver marked “sterling” as this belt buckle is, is in all probability not Mexican and not Sterling. It is probably of a higher grade and in all probability the metal come up from Peru where huge mines continue to operate under conditions which are far from perfect.
Used to be able to pickup a great deal of this sort of material from street vendors, now as the market gets more sophisticated, items get less crafted and more machine stamped.
I doubt I could tell you much from marks on it even if you got them into better focus. There were dozens, perhaps hundreds of craftsmen each with their own marks selling into the US.
Because silver then was cheap, I was paying about $3.00 a troy oz. and the makers were many and unregulated, buckles like this were selling for a few dollars.
I got curious about who was making this and sourced open air silver beaters in Mexico city who then would make me anything I wanted for about ten per cent over the melt value of the metal. I commissioned tea and coffee pots, trays and bowls and took them back to Canada where I sold them to Birks in Montreal who stamped them “Birks” and resold at about 10 times the price I had paid.
In Mexico silver is valued for its antiseptic and rapid heat transfer capabilities and why gringos want teapots made out of material that does either of those things remains a mystery to them.
I am headed back down to Mexico City next week and will update you on what is selling what if the broader market is of any interest to you.
CRWW
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