I have a silver Lincoln reproduced letter done in pure silver. This was done in the 1930s. What is the best way to restore it, and how would I treat it if I were to frame it?
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Assuming it really is silver (of some purity), I’d start by giving it a warm bath with some dish soap, just to remove surface grime. Then, a gentle application of silver polish, rinse, dry. You’ll probably have to repeat it a few times - just don’t get impatient and start scrubbing it, since that would wear away the lettering.
It would be interesting to know how pure the silver is. Truly pure silver, at .999 purity, is very soft, and might not have been a good choice for something like this. Sterling, at .925 purity, would have been the better choice. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it was some variety of “coin silver,” which usually ranges from .800 to .900 purity. A pawn shop, scrap metal dealer, or jewelry dealer would likely have an XRF gun, and could give you a quick “read” on the purity.
ETA: Framing is problematic, since it will need to be polished again in the future, no matter what you do to it. Putting it behind glass, or fixed into a frame, would make that very difficult. Probably better to rest it on a little plate stand of some sort.
I am trying to find it but I have the original receipt from a ( silver refiner?) Listing it as pure silver.
After looking at everything when someone says silver polish I am not even sure what that means with all the dips wipes Etc
Stay away from the dips. They’re usually too aggressive, and often leave a residue behind that’s even tougher to deal with than the tarnish.
I just use Wright’s Silver Cream. Handy little applicator pad in the container. The more important thing is not to get too physical with the polish.
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That doesn’t really nail it down. Sterling silver objects are often described as “pure silver,” but they’re not quite. And virtually nothing is truly 100% pure silver - it’s almost impossible to attain that level of purity.
Q I am not sure at this point, do I keep going until every smudge of tarnish is gone or do I call that good
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Now I remember the other special thing about this the lettering is not etched it’s raised… okay, has anyone ever seen anything like this?
It’s looking very nice! Best not to press your luck. Over time, repeated gentle polishing might improve it a bit, but not much.
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Now that’s certainly intriguing. I don’t have a clue about how this was pulled off. 
I wonder if it was cast like a ring in lost wax or some medium? Are there any hallmarks or 925 or sterling marks on it anywhere?
No Hallmark this is a photo of the back and if you look kind of under the tarnish the metal has a strange finish I guess
Kind of like oval dots some in kind of a splatter pattern I’m pretty sure those are all slightly indented
Weird, right?,…,. I guess they didn’t like that small of a post
I wish my FIL were still alive, I keep thinking maybe it was some type of plate for publishing on some type of printing press. So unusual with raised letters, not engraved. I think your polishing is great looks very nice. You can place it in a nice frame with out any glass, Hobby Lobby has lots that could fit or make one custom because it could be an odd size. I would have someone test it for silver content that knows what they are doing, a Pawn shop or Jeweler. I do my own acid scratch tests it takes time to learn results and not mess up the item. All in I love your piece. Thanks for sharing
Thank you for all your wonderful input I really appreciate it. I’m beginning to think that it might really be something that nobody sure how it was done
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isn’t it just a thin sheet of metal stamped from a die? That would explain the raised lettering.
Took it to my local gold silver buyer / reseller. He said that by his machine it tested pure silver it is seven troy ounces and he felt definitely custom-made!