You don’t give dimensions but I would guess that it is probably a sugar bowl from a tea or coffee service. It is American electroplate by Forbes Silver Co:
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Wow, that’s impressive! Thanks so much for identifying it so quickly, that’s amazing. I guess it isn’t worth much, right? This is my first foray into buying something silverish at a yard sale, but I didn’t pay much so that’s just a fun gamble 
If you are planning on buying American silver you must look for the word “sterling” - anything else American is either going to be fairly early or not silver.
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In general, electroplate has “decorative” value only, since it contains virtually no precious metal. Some fine pieces can bring higher prices, but usually for some other reason, like British EP designed by someone like Christopher Dresser.
Sterling silver always has at least “melt value,” or what it would bring if melted down. Look at the current spot price of silver and multiply by the weight, times 0.925 (since sterling isn’t truly pure silver). Then subtract what a metal dealer would take as his cut, maybe 25% - 40%.
What a piece is worth above that depends on condition, age, who the maker was, and so on - there’s a whole raft of other things that explain why something brings the price it does at auction. Look at eBay “sold” auctions to get some idea - the “buy it now” prices are often wildly optimistic.
Even at today’s lofty spot price of silver, however, I’ve been seeing fine examples of U.S. silver from well-known makers like Gorham or Tiffany selling at just barely the melt value. It’s a tough market.
Thanks! Very true, but I saw the hallmarks on it and it was priced at fifty cents, so I bought it on a whim.
Thanks for the very informative answer, I really appreciate it.
The trick is to make only inexpensive mistakes. If you can stick to those, you’ll be fine.
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