1819 George III Venison Dish

Appraised on: July 10, 2004

Appraised in: Omaha, Nebraska

Appraised by: Sarah Shinn Pratt

Category: Silver

Episode Info: Omaha, Hour 1 (#904)

Originally Aired: January 24, 2005

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Appraisal Video: (1:35)

GUEST: I bought it as a gift for my wife ten or 12 years ago here in Omaha at an estate sale.

APPRAISER: How much did you pay?

GUEST: A little over 1,000. And since we've had it it's like a fixture in our home.

APPRAISER: Well, let me tell you what I know about it. It dates from 1819. It's made by Benjamin Smith of London, who was a partner at some point with Paul Storr, one of the greatest silversmiths of the early 19th century. And it's a combination of silver and Sheffield plate. The base is Sheffield plate, the cover is Sheffield plate. The dish, which is detachable, is actually silver. The handle is also silver, which is unusual because most of the time it's Sheffield plate, but in a case like this, where obviously they spared no expense, they wanted to use solid silver. There are hallmarks right here.

GUEST: I didn't even know that.

APPRAISER: Yeah, they're right here and that's how we know. You can tell that this part is not solid silver because you see the copper showing through. And on the warming stand you can tell, because there's no marks and also the way it's made that it's not silver. At auction in New York or London, one would probably have to pay between $4,000 and $6,000 for something this impressive.

GUEST: Oh, my gosh.

APPRAISER: You made quite a spectacular purchase. It's wonderful. Do you ever use it for Thanksgiving?

GUEST: We haven't. Next time we get our family together we plan to use it.

APPRAISER: That'd be spectacular.