Silver-Plate is frequently referred to as Sheffield Plate as thousands of silver-plated items have Sheffield stamped on their bases. Many silver plated items bear the marks EPNS that stand for Electro Plated Nickel Silver or EP for Electro Plate.

Is electroplate the same as silver plate?

Electroplate can give a more uniform silver finish than silverplate. There are usually no seams with the underlying metal visible. The base metal is usually either copper or nickel. Electroplated items are much cheaper to produce than Sheffield plate, and are usually less desirable as collectibles.

What was the silver plate called?

They were allowed to be called sterling although the technical jargon was silver plate. This standard has been in existence for over 600 years!

What is Epns plating?

EPNS stands for Electro Plated Nickel Silver. Nickel Silver (or occasionally stainless steel) is the base metal onto which silver is plated. Despite its name, Nickel Silver contains no silver at all, but is an alloy of Nickel, Zinc & Copper.