So there I am walking around the shop. I stop here and there picking up things and flipping them over looking over the mark, setting it down. I can't help it. Chrome, pewter, really cheap plate I pick it up just to be sure. I almost walked past this little rabbit. Its a statue and I have little patience for knickknacks. But my partner was checking something out and I did not want to wander to the next booth. I picked the little rabbit up. Is this Peter Rabbit? It was too shiny, a sign that it has been factory varnished as an anti-tarnish measure. This means that it is close to current manufacture and not anything older. The copyright from BFA Scotland on the back reading 1989 confirmed this. A second copyright FW & Co. is also on the back. FW & Co. hold the rights to license Peter Rabbit. The shovel handle has been broken and glued back. It is a sloppy repair. But, on the good side the piece is under ten dollars.
Flipping it over the mark reads Industria Argentina. This is a mark that Argentinian goods carry. It is like the Made in USA mark for Argentina. I see a lot of material for sale on the internet that thinks this is a company. It is not, it is a program started by Peron to raise national pride and mark Argentinian goods. Then over in the corner small, hard to read, slightly hidden is the real deal. 925, and sterling marked. It also reads in Spanish "an idea visited in silver"
It turns out to weigh 7 3/4 ounces. Not too bad for under ten dollars. Given the circumstances just this once I decide to purchase a knickknack. My guess is that the seller did not know what they had thought it had a bad repair, and was pretty worthless. If it had been plate it would have been. As an object it is pretty damaged. As a chunk of precious metal its a very pretty way to store value. I wish I could have gotten a better picture but it just was not working out today.
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Thanks for shaaring this
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