Help with unusal Brooch /Pendant marked and numbered

[onenorthernlight]

I hope I am in the correct Forum?

I have had this kicking around for a while and have tried several times to research the mark without success.

Item is 2" long x 7/8" wide x almost 1/8" deep. I believe the # is 1346 (or maybe 1348?)

Since the item is hard rather then soft I think it is Silver not Pewter although there is no mark to say so.

Thanks for your help.

I have two shots of the back (uploaded to image site at same time) but to me this is the better image even though it is at a bit of an angle. I am also showing an image of the front if this might help ID the Maker by style?

[kerangoumar]

this appears to be pewter rather than silver, though one can't say that with certainty unless other evidence rules it out. it just does not look like silver.

[onenorthernlight]

Thank you for the reply.

I wish I knew for sure what the metal was.

My experience with pewter is that it is a very soft metal that is easily dinted and this is solid.

I guess another option is it is a piece of Nickel Silver?

[salmoned]

Pewter can be fairly hard too. Best to test the specific gravity. That will distinguish between pewter (~6g/cc), nickel silver (~9g/cc) and solid silvers (~10g/cc).

[onenorthernlight]

There is one mark that I found in Mexican Silver section that is similar but to me this one looks more like a boat?

[onenorthernlight]

Pewter can be fairly hard too. Best to test the specific gravity. That will distinguish between pewter (~6g/cc), nickel silver (~9g/cc) and solid silvers (~10g/cc).

Thank you for the information. Where would I go to get this done? A jeweller? Is it expensive?

[kerangoumar]

viewtopic.php?t=11330&highlight=specific+gravity
will go into detail for you, you can do it at home.

[onenorthernlight]

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately I don't have a scale that would work :-(

[kerangoumar]

here's another way to sniff out silver (be careful! it's controversial!)

actually if you have a good sense of smell it will be very useful. find a piece of silver that is either sterling or plated (but well plated, not with the metal rubbed off everywhere) and that is tarnished.

now rub your thumb over it several times, firmly.

now sniff your thumb: silver tarnish being a sulphur compound will have a gag-inducing, acrid, sourish smell, quite distinctive. if you can't smell it then you won't be able to use this test but if you can, you will always remember this odour.

then rub your thumb firmly over the back of your pin or any other metal that you think might be silver(*) and if it smells like that, it is silver tho the test cannot tell you whether it is solid or plated.

(*) rhodium-plated silver - such as 1960s charm bracelets etc - is an exception. but you will be able to tell by its looks that that does not have a silver surface.

[onenorthernlight]

Thanks for the reply.

I guess my sense of smell isn't as good as it used to be.

I was sure your idea would work as I used to be bothered by the smells of different coins, silver and copper, when I was younger.

I will try to purchase a home use digital scale which I hope will be suitable for the other test.

Thanks again everyone for your help.