Meriden silver plate has little value

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Dear Helaine and Joe:I am looking for information on Meriden silver plate. I have two large goblets and a 1-quart flagon. The bases are marked "Made and Guaranteed By" over a circle with a scale and the words "Meriden B. Company" inside. Any information would be appreciated.Thank you,K.K., Markleysburg, Pa.Dear K.K.:Before the late 1830s, the only methods of creating relatively inexpensive "silver-plated" objects was either to fuse a thin sheet of sterling silver to a thicker sheet of copper using heat (called "Sheffield plate") or to hammer a thin layer of silver over a base metal and then secure it with solder (called "close plating").Electroplating did not start until the mid-1830s and is the process of depositing a thin layer of precious metal -- generally silver or gold -- onto a base metal using electricity passed through a conductive liquid containing potassium cyanide. The base-metal object is immersed in the solution, which also contains suspended ions of precious metal, and the electric current causes the silver or gold to adhere to the surface of the base-metal object.The perfection of this process is usually credited to the Elkingtons of Birmingham, England, who received several patents for the process between 1836 and 1840. They licensed the process to other manufacturers, and the world market was soon inundated with items that looked like they were made from solid silver but were not.The base metal that was silver-plated in the pieces belonging to K.K. is "Britannia Metal" and that is what the "B" stands for in "Meriden B Company." Britannia is a pewterlike metal that is generally made from 93 percent tin, with 5 percent antimony and 2 percent copper. Sometimes, silver-electroplated objects made with this metal will be marked "EPBM" -- which means "Electroplated Britannia Metal."Many metal objects from the mid- to late 19th century that look like pewter are actually Britannia metal. The Meriden Britannia Co. was founded in 1852 in Meriden, Conn., and it began making silver-electroplated Britannia metal in 1855. Later, the company also produced nickel silver (an alloy composed mainly of copper and nickel, sometimes with zinc, antimony and/or other metals). Electroplated-nickel silver items are sometimes marked "EPNS."Electroplated silver items generally have a modest value unless they are either very fancy or very rare. Pieces decorated with images of icebergs, polar bears and Arctic explorers can bring really good money, and a silver-plated cocktail shaker in the shape of a Boston lighthouse has sold at auction for more the $10,000! But these are rare exceptions to the rule.The pieces belonging to K.K. are part of a communion set, and many American collectors tend to avoid items with religious connotations. However, if this set had been earlier and in American- or British-made pewter rather than silver-plated Britannia metal, its monetary worth would have been significantly higher.Currently, the insurance-replacement value of this very plain set is in the $350-to-$450 range if the silvered surface is still in good condition and does not have a lot of unsightly wear.(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, PO Box 27540, Knoxville, TN 37927. E-mail them at treasures(at)knology.net.)