Expert: Wynneth Mullins - 12/11/2011

Question
i have been given a collection of gold thimbles and know nothing about them.  One in particularly is beautifully designed and has an 8 with double anchors on it.  this thimble weighs 4 grams.  

another is plain but engraved with the name mary  then 3 initials - perhaps of the person who gave it to her and the date Dec, 25, 1916  Inside it has a 9 under that an A with what looks to be a crest with an S in it.  under all that it has 14K

another between 3-4 grams with a star inside and 14K

I have several more but they don't have any markings in the inside

any help you can give me for research would be helpful.  thank you

Answer
Hello Antoinette,  Thank you for your questions.  The first thimble you mentioned with the double anchors which means it is gold filled.  It was made by Goldsmith Stern Co. between 1890 - 1933.  Gold filled means that 1/20th of the total weight of the thimble must be 10K gold or better.  Gold filled is a material consisting of a layer of base metal or in this case, probably sterling silver to which a sheet of gold of 10K quality or better has been fused to the thimble.  The next thimble was made by Simons Bros. Co.  The A indicates full karat weight, the 9 is the size of the thimble and the S in script in a shield is the hallmark of the Simons Bros. Co. and of course you know already it is 14K gold.  Without marks or testing the thimbles, you cannot tell if the thimbles are 10K, 14K, 18K or 24K gold or if they are perhaps gold filled or even perhaps brass.  If you decide to have an "expert" test the thimbles to determine if they are gold, be careful.  Many times, they destroy the value of the thimble and also the thimble itself by taking a notch out of the thimble or they do the ACID test on it which leaves a dark spot that is there FOREVER. I hope this helps.

Wynneth