by Alexis Butcher

There is some confusion surrounding the silver market but most people in the street would perceive it to be bad or at best not performing well. It really depends on which aspect of the market is being talked about and to what it is being compared. If, for example, you have an old valuation of your antique silver from twenty years ago, you will be disappointed with today's prices for domestic silver. However, we hold regular specialist sales of silver at Woolley and Wallis auctioneers and our turnover is up 10 on last year's figures.
The market is not easy to understand and analysing it is tricky because so many hidden factors come into play. The past year has seen a continuing trend for people to shed their silver for the usual reasons: cleaning it is time-consuming and messy, insuring it is costly, and with the popular open-plan living, formal dining and entertaining has had its day. To quote a colleague of mine, 'the vicar never calls in for tea'.

A rare Victorian vinaigrette in the form of a mussel shell. £2,773.

The Internet, while probably still an anathema to many silver collectors, has proved a useful tool in creating a global market. Many auction houses now offer an online bidding facility; although in its infancy, many buyers find it convenient to listen in live and bid as and when the fancy takes them, rather than waiting in at a pre-arranged time to do a telephone bid. The Internet also does away with the need for a catalogue; detailed images can be requested by e-mail, as can condition reports of any lots of interest without the often costly catalogue subscription fee. It is common to receive commission bids for silver sales from as many as 20 to 30 different countries.
An interesting recent development is the strengthening of the market for contemporary and second-hand silver. Pieces by H.G.Murphy, Christopher Lawrence, Gerald Benny and Lesley Durbin command strong prices at auction to the extent that some salerooms have catalogues devoted to them.
Goldsmiths' Hall has been very supportive of young talent and their annual fair, normally held over two weeks in September, is a good promotional tool for these hopefuls and it has encouraged new patrons to buy into silver.
It has always been said that when things are bad the silver market does rather well. On a base level, the 'credit crunch' may mean that people have to tighten their belts and perhaps be less extravagant or more prudent with their expenses. Antique silver, however, is a luxury and to most collectors a passion over which they have little control.
Furthermore, if you hear that the 'silver price' is very low and things are bad as far as selling goes (which seems to be what the ill-informed generally chant) then you are likely to go and buy silver as it must be good value. After all, better to have something with intrinsic value than a paper share or bond. Many silver dealers, I,m sure, will see the way that things have gone recently as a death throe. Quite a number have given up their shops or taken early retirement. But for those willing to adapt and change their outlook, the market for smaller collectable boxes and 'toys' is so strong that it more than makes up for the shortfall in the current saggy state of hollowware.