Posted by Part of my Etsy work these days includes sorting through my inventory and deciding if I should continue to try and sell an item or donate it. And if I think it’s still a good thing, does it need new photos, search terms or a different price? It’s been slow going but I’m glad I’m doing it.
Well today, I decided to open up my small bin of antique sterling silver pieces and see what needed better photos because silver is always a good thing. As I started to unwrap the tissue paper around various pieces I made a surprising discovery.
Here’s the backstory–in October 2021 we had to have our house tented for termites. Prepping the house for this procedure was tedious, time consuming and stressful. Part of that process includes removing valuables from the property and to that end one of our dear neighbors was willing to let us store a few small bins of our goodies at their house for three days. In one of the bins I had all my Etsy silver as well as things from my personal collections. Well to be frank after I collected the bins from my neighbors I forgot that my personal items were also in the bin until 2023 when I rediscovered a few of them and I wrote about it in this post–Forgotten Antique Sterling Silver and “New” Thrifted Finds. But I never looked through the whole bin and here I am in June 2025 and I found more things sitting in the bottom. Almost four years later!
I rediscovered these two antique sterling silver vesta cases. I used to collect these along with sterling cigarette cases. One has a loop for hanging from a chatelaine’s belt. The other is a scarce heraldry type of case that I think is fantastic. These were used back in the day when having matches close at hand was beneficial.
Also in the bin were some of my favorite antique sterling silver souvenir spoons. How could I have forgotten about these?
And there was a gorgeous little antique sterling silver card/dance purse by R. Blackinton. I used to have a small collection of these (about six I think) but have been slowly divesting. In the past I’ve actually used them as wallets as most fit a credit card and a bit of money. (I have all but one now listed.)
I also found a small trophy cup from 1931. It has all the proper British hallmarks, but I’ll need to take a minute to decipher them. I’ve always loved these kind of trophies and have felt honored to own them but it breaks my heart a bit thinking that they had no family who wanted it.
These are all lovely things. Most purchased on eBay years ago and all displayed in my house at one time. I does feel strange to have forgotten them.
Then it hit me–many of us have more stuff then we can fully appreciate or enjoy. Especially those of us who may be in our senior years. We have collections, years of gifts, decades of buying, inherited bits…so much! So even though I still like all these things I’ve decided to sell most of them. It’s time.
Here are a few links:
- Antique R. Blackinton Sterling Silver Card/Dance Purse
- Mark Hopkins San Francisco Sterling Silver Spoon
- Antique San Miguel Chapel Sterling Silver Spoon
- Antique Sterling Silver Lion/Heraldry Vesta Match Case
But I am keeping these three spoons–the Maid of the Mist from Niagara Falls, a stork birth spoon and a delightful pixie spoon that’s engraved “Edna from Papa” and “Feb. 3, ’92” and that’s for 1892 which was at the height of souvenir spoon manufacturing and collecting.
We’ll see how long these items to find new homes. In particular antique sterling silver souvenir spoons are not popular, but they do sell according to Worthpoint data. And I have sold several dozen over the years, but the last sale was in January of this year.
In closing I am glad to finally have rediscovered these gems and happy to add them to my Etsy store.
Wishing you happy hunting,
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 