So, I’ve been meaning to share this little adventure I had with some Rogers Company silverware. It all started a few months back when I stumbled upon a rather tarnished set at a local estate sale. Looked like it had seen better days, but something about it caught my eye.
Getting Started with the Haul
First thing I did when I got it home was lay it all out on the kitchen table. Spoons, forks, a couple of those fancy serving pieces. They were grimy, let me tell you. Years of who-knows-what caked on. My initial thought was, “Okay, let’s see if we can bring these back to life.” I wasn’t expecting miracles, just a bit of a spruce-up.
I started with the basics. Warm water, a bit of mild dish soap. Just trying to get the surface dirt off. Some of it came away easy, but the tarnish was stubborn. That’s when I remembered my grandma used to have some tricks for silverware.
The Cleaning Process – Trial and Error
I decided to try a couple of those home-remedy cleaning methods.
- First up, I tried the baking soda paste. Mixed it with a little water, rubbed it on gently with a soft cloth. This worked pretty well on some of the less-tarnished pieces. Took a bit of elbow grease, though.
- Then, for the tougher spots, I read about the aluminum foil and baking soda bath. Lined a pan with foil, added hot water and a good scoop of baking soda, then let the silverware soak for a bit. Honestly, I was skeptical, but it actually did lift a lot of the heavy tarnish!
After the soaking and a bit more polishing with a clean cloth, they started to look a whole lot better. Not perfect, mind you, but definitely shinier. It was pretty satisfying to see them transform.
Figuring Out What I Actually Had
Once they were clean, I got curious. “Rogers Company,” it said on the back of most pieces. But then I started looking closer, and some had slightly different marks. This is where things got a bit fuzzy. I hopped online, thinking it’d be a quick search. Boy, was I wrong.
Turns out, “Rogers” is like, a super common name in silverware. There’s Wm. Rogers, 1847 Rogers Bros., Rogers & Bro., and a whole bunch of others. It was a bit of a rabbit hole. I spent a good afternoon just trying to match the markings on my pieces to pictures and descriptions I found. It felt like being a detective, but for spoons.
I learned that not all Rogers silverware is sterling silver; a lot of it is silverplate. And the value can vary wildly depending on the specific Rogers company, the pattern, and the condition. My set? Well, after all that, I figured out it was a decent silverplate set, probably from one of the more common lines. Not a hidden treasure that would let me retire early, unfortunately.
Final Thoughts on the Experience
But you know what? I wasn’t even disappointed. The whole process of finding them, cleaning them up, and learning a bit about their history was actually pretty enjoyable. It was a hands-on project, and I ended up with a nice-looking set of silverware that I actually use now. Plus, I know a heck of a lot more about Rogers silverware than I did before. Sometimes it’s not about the monetary value, but just the experience of working on something and learning along the way. That was my little Rogers silverware journey, from start to finish.