Famous American coin silver makers

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AllSeasons
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Famous American coin silver makers

Post by AllSeasons »

Is there a shortlist of famous American coin silver makers? I was able to find more complete lists of coin silver makers online, but they do not indicate which ones were famous or collectible. Does anyone have this information? Or maybe just a few names would help.

Thank you in advance.
wev
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Re: Famous American coin silver makers

Post by wev »

In a word, No. What do you mean by famous? Historically? Artistically? Monetarily? Aside from the obvious big boys at the top, every collector or dealer will have a different list, based on their taste or marketplace.
Are you trying to assemble a personal collection? Buying for inventory? In either case, how deep are your pockets? While examples by talented, though not generally famous, makers can be had (with patience) at moderate prices, the top end of the list will run thousands per, even for a well worn spoon. Starting out, your money would be far better spent buying books and reading then. Then you can develop a plan of interest to begin collecting in.
AllSeasons
Posts: 265
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Re: Famous American coin silver makers

Post by AllSeasons »

wev wrote:In a word, No. What do you mean by famous? Historically? Artistically? Monetarily? Aside from the obvious big boys at the top, every collector or dealer will have a different list, based on their taste or marketplace.
Are you trying to assemble a personal collection? Buying for inventory? In either case, how deep are your pockets? While examples by talented, though not generally famous, makers can be had (with patience) at moderate prices, the top end of the list will run thousands per, even for a well worn spoon. Starting out, your money would be far better spent buying books and reading then. Then you can develop a plan of interest to begin collecting in.
Thank you for the reply. This is just for collecting personally. I don't have a big budget, so starting small would be good. Makers like Revere and Myers would most likely be out of the question, unless I find a super good price, which is highly unlikely. What would be a good beginner's book to buy? I guess not just coin silver, but maybe silver in general.

Cheers!
wev
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Re: Famous American coin silver makers

Post by wev »

AllSeasons wrote:Thank you for the reply. This is just for collecting personally. I don't have a big budget, so starting small would be good. Makers like Revere and Myers would most likely be out of the question, unless I find a super good price, which is highly unlikely. What would be a good beginner's book to buy? I guess not just coin silver, but maybe silver in general.
Just starting out, I would recommend "Early American Silver" by Martha Gandy Fales, one of the leading scholars in the field. It is an older book (1970), but still an excellent overview of the history and development of silver work in America. It will give a solid framework of forms, designs, and technique that applies to work of any era. Copies can be had used for less than $10.

After that, I would also urge you to ponder some sort of collecting plan or you will end up with drawers full of no purpose. Once you have some sort of idea, you can buy more narrowly focused books.
AllSeasons
Posts: 265
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Re: Famous American coin silver makers

Post by AllSeasons »

Perfect! Thank you!
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