Hi everyone, I just joined. We have a silver tea set in it’s original wooden box that I need some help in identifying. My mom would like to sell the items so I am trying to find out what the items are worth and what they are named. The set is made up of a tea pot, milk jug and sugar bowl. The tea pot has a hall mark a the bottom (see images) but the milk jug and sugar bowl does not have any hallmarks.
I’m getting marshall & sons, George street Edinburgh c1885 !!! 
Upper case “D,” so 1860, rather than 1885. Concur on Marshall & Sons.
ETA: Oh, and, get out the silver polish! Those should shine up very nicely. 
As far as value, start by weighing them, without the box, of course. 
Then check the spot price of silver. That will establish a floor value - in other words, what they’re worth just as raw silver. But you should be able to sell them for at least double that - it’s all a matter of how “collectable” they are. Having the original box is definitely a big plus. And Scottish silver often sells at a premium, compared to Birmingham, London, or Sheffield, just because it’s a bit more unusual.
I’m a little surprised that the milk and sugar aren’t also hallmarked, but it’s almost inconceivable that the teapot would be sterling, and the other two pieces just plate. They were clearly produced together, so I’d be comfortable assuming that all three are sterling.
Will tell Mom to shine them up 
Wow! Thanks so much for the detailed info Jeff. I will do as you suggest 
So here’s a couple of three-container tea sets by this company at auction. Why the difference in price range? Time of day, state of the buyers’ liver. Weight and who knows.
Here’s a six-piece service by the same company
Much more silver and much higher price.
Do test the unmarked items for silver content otherwise in your country you are restricted to selling them as “white metal” whatever that is.
You can, if you wish, submit them to an assay office, pay the fee and get them hall marked currently.
But just the test results will do.
Does being boxed help?
Should. Especially if the box is itself labelled with the owner’s name or crest giving it some provenance.
Tea sets are the dickens to unload. There was a period in domestic silver history when it was perfectly possible to be unsure who you were going to marry but you absolutely were going to get a tea set on your wedding day if nothing else.
Canadian families, because of sales campaigns by Henry Birks & Sons were particularly susceptible. I personally have inherited eight tea sets from eight great grandparents. One of them is complete with a tray so heavy I would get a hernia even looking at it. I have got a number of grandchildren and when they displease me I threaten them with its possible inheritance and peace is quickly restored.
You will have looked at ebay where prices asked are typically twice offline auction but again there’s competition and fees.
Auctioneers charge buyers and sellers fees and that can come to 50% of the price realized so you sell for say 400 of your pounds and you only get half of it.
Auctioneers if you ask them as a buyer why they want to charge you, say its to guarantee the quality of the product they are selling you. This must be nonsense as even the most practiced auctioneer make errors every time they set up a silver auction usually by relying on consignors’ reps rather than looking up the data for themselves.
Okay. Don’t want to be a Debbie downer but there it is. I blame it all on the teabag and that dreadful Lipton character who filled them with floor sweepings and got you lot so addicted you sacrificed a colony for the stuff and gave us the Boston Tea Party — sort of like your Guy Fawkes day but without the anti-Catholic overtones and no fireworks.
Christopher
Guildhall Antiques Ltd
Toronto
Check around the outside near the top half of the sugar bowl and creamer for the same hallmarks as the bottom of the pot.
Welcome to the community Bell 
Thanks, I will check.
Thanks for a most entertaining and very informative reply Christopher! I enjoyed reading it and had a good giggle.
Greetings from Cape Town, I have another challenge for you guys please. More of Mom’s silver teapots that she wants to sell, and I don’t know how to identify
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge and taking the time to read my message
Well, let’s deal with the first one, which is the easiest. That’s sterling. The hallmark is for Birmingham, 1940.
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham/Date%20Letters%20Q.html
That makes the inscription a bit puzzling, since 1926 is much too early. I can only assume that this was in commemoration of some earlier event, like a wedding.
The maker is William Suckling Ltd.
https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Birmingham-SH-SN.html#SL
Value? Weigh the set and check the current spot price of silver. Add a bit for “collectible value,” but substract a bit for “inscribed.”
The other three sets are electroplate, with only decorative value. And on some of them, it looks like the plating has been worn away, revealing the copper underneath. With that kind of damage, they’re worth almost nothing, since the cost of re-plating them would exceed their value.
The “Old English Reproduction” pieces are from Lipman Brothers, a Canadian company that was active in the 1920’s and 1930’s. The “Viking Plate” is from the same company. A tough sell, even for pocket change.
The Mappin & Webb “Princes Plate” is a bit more sellable, though even that can be a tough slog. It was produced from about 1890 to the 1920’s, but I don’t think their letter dating system is understood - there’s a lot of guesswork out there. Look at “sold” listings on eBay to get an idea of value. Even in excellent shape, pieces like that struggle to get out of the low two figures.
