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I have 2 examples of damage to spoons. They are both swedish one is V the other one is P2
They are nothing special. In their present condition they are not usable. Should I keep them that way or should i go to a silversmith and let hin try to fix them?
The first is P2 and it is not that damaged. However if I start cleaning it - it might be.
The second is V and as you can see it very damaged. And do need repair.
Then i have a 1798 norwegian spoon - someone has fixed that one - I dont think that it was destroyed in that process - but it is visible.
I think I would approach the question from its opposite end: would you collect any of these spoons - or any other items - if they had been repaired? If so, why, and what criteria would you use in choosing the items you want?
The basic question underlying this is: what you are collecting, and why. You acquired those spoons somehow. If they did not come to you via family, then you probably bought them. Were they damaged at the time?
So perhaps you have a reason that impels you to have them repaired anyhow.
One could draw parallels with buying a cottage (as nigel le sueur did) but one would have to factor out that the cottage serves an additional, important purpose - housing.
Beyond that, though, one would ask - did he buy the cottage knowing that he would make restorations, just as you bought engraved spoons knowing that you would have the engraving removed?
Did he buy the cottage knowing that he would leave things as they are, alterations included, just as you bought the spoons knowing that you would leave them as is?
Did he buy the cottage knowing that he would have problems corrected, just as you bought the spoons knowing that you would have them repaired?
Which of these if valid? Aren't they all? They address differing concerns, is what.
The first wishes to have and use the object in as near to original a condition as possible (even though by returning the item to its original state he is perpetrating an act that can be seen as unnecessarily purist, and can, in fact, be seen as a repudiation of the accumulated history of the item.)
The second likes to see the evidence of previous life and ownership, (even though that can be seen as lack of rigour and lax scholarship, in that one is not acquiring or studying the object in the form or state originally intended).
The third wants above all to use the item and prefers an older to a newer one (even though that can be seen as precious and snobbish in the same way, for example, one might be termed so for preferring French to New World wines).
In the end, each of these is an expression of a different ethos, not better than any other, nor right.
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I like to make use of my things i.e. I like to be able to use my things. I will probably newer use these spoons for eating. But I would like to have the option.
Whenever I drink a beer - I think which mug should I use? Whenewer I drink wine I select a glass - antique that I feel like using that day. I select cobber and use it for decoration or flowers, or furnitures where I like old things sometimes they just become stored.
Same with the spoons - I have a lot of old spoons that I can use - also 1700. So I think that I will wait - keep them the way they are.
Sometimes I buy fx 3 or 5 silver things - now and then - 1 of the items are damaged. Like these spoons. I alway pay great attention to the price.
Age, condition, ability to use, is it rare or interesting, etc and price should correspond. I have not paid a lot for these perhaps 50 to 75 USD or sometimes less down to 15 USD. So I have no problem in putting them in a box and wait.
Somethimes I bye a thing (for storage) silver in cheap in Denmark and the knowledge of silver is low. I buy a lot of silver for the price of plated silver. Foreign marks are almost unknown in Denmark. And noone pay attention because silver is not modern. Therefor I buy swedish, german, french, nowegian, or other countries - silver often for the price of new silver. Those pieces I store and one day (when I am retired) I will sell norwegian silver in Oslo and so on. Making a litle profit because re-export back to the country where it represent history. In the mean time I have pleasure in using the antiques for daily use.
So all in all my conclusion is that you are right. I will keep them the way they are.
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