As a collector, one of the first and important decisions is whether to focus your efforts to collecting silver plate or sterling silver antiques.

Historically, collecting and using sterling silverware and flatware was a symbol of wealth and social status in England, America and Europe. However, with the advent of electroplating technology during 1800s, by inventors such as: Luigi Brugnatelli (1805); John Wright (1845); The Elkingtons (1840), the use and collection of silverware became more accessible to the broader community. As a result of electroplating technology, silver plate silverware and flatware is a more common find for the antique collector in contemporary times.

When browsing or researching antique silver plate or sterling tableware, look for a 'hallmark' that will provide information about the manufacture or designer and the origin location. This is important as a way of authentication as a genuine silver plate or sterling silver item.

Patterning is another feature to consider when purchasing and collecting silverware. The range and variety of patterns and styles is vast. When collecting, it is not necessary to have a complete set of silverware that all display the same pattern design. The key is to find items that display patterns that can match other patterns or complement each other. This means you can mix n match various patterns and styles to make a complete set of silver plate or sterling silver tableware. If you are fortunate or patient enough to find and collect a complete set all displaying the same pattern, then fine. But if not, then adopt the mix n match idea.

The peak time for silverware manufacturing and consumer usage was during the Victorian period (1870-1920). It was not uncommon during that era for manufactures to produce 100 different items of the same pattern. This trend was in response to consumer demands of the day. Middle and upper class families often entertained with dinners consisting of eight course meals or more.

Historically, 1870 to about 1920 was the peak period for traditional silverware usage. Many makers of silverware would make up to 100 different pieces of a particular pattern. For example, dinners would typically begin with soup, followed buy salads, then fruit. After a pause, more substantial dishes would follow including fish and various meats. Deserts, cheeses and fruits would finish the dinning affair. So within this kind of dining context, it can be expected that a variety of specialized silverware and flatware was necessary. As a result of this social / cultural activity of the Victorian period, there is vast scope for the contemporary silver plate and sterling silver antique collector and investor.

Antique silver plate and sterling silverware have a couple of unique properties. Aesthetically, collectors enjoy the beauty and durability of silver plate and sterling silver tableware. As an appreciating asset, investors are rewarded by the 'stored value' especially of antique sterling silver flatware. This kind of 'asset' benefits investors and collectors for that matter against inflation and currency devaluation.

So, whether you are a casual collector of serious investor in the antique silver plate and sterling silver niche, there are several benefits and rewards that will be enjoyed including aesthetics, utility and financial dividends.

It has always been a puzzle to me when an object, somewhat aged, can be termed an antique.

Must it be really very old- perhaps in excess of 100 years to be called an antique? Or just when can we call an object an antique?

After all, we very loosely use the term antique for any object that has lived past its popularity. A lady's coach handbag that was in vogue in summer, is now called an antique in winter!

In the days of the British Empire where the British had their conquests in far away worlds and colonised many territories, they left behind many legacies of worth. British systems of government, british designs and most of all british products and goods which now can rightly be called antiques and their systems "antiquated" at this time. Thus when I discovered a really old looking lock with the logo of the maker stamped onto it and marked "Warranted Best English Made" and " Warranted Secure" amongst some old belongings inherited from my deceased father who lived through the colonial period, I thought the lock must really be an antique.

So when is an antique really an antique?

The definition of antique varies from location to location, product to product and year to year.

In any case, universal common definitions of antiques adopted worldwide consider an item which is at least 75 years old and has unique features to enable it to be collected or kept as desirable due to it being rare, or useful is considered an antique.

Generally, cars are considered antiques in the U.S. if they are older than 25 years. In Kansas, however, I learnt that cars are eligible for an antique tag after 30 years. Guitars are only considered vintage if they were made before 1972.

In the UK anything over 75 years old generally qualifies as an antique. A car is known as a collectible "classic" rather than an antique after 25 years.

There is an understood line between antiques and collectibles in the United States as well. An item is tagged as an antique by most reliable commercial antique dealers if it is more than 100 years old, even though the universal common understanding is 75 years, and anything less than 100 years is called a collectible.

It is not always the antiques that carries a higher price tag. Collectibles can be worth many times that of an antique. It all depends on the eyes of the beholder.

Yes, people do collect toilets. To most people this seems a bit like collecting old computers. Unless they are hooked up to something, they aren't really functional and most aren't that pretty. Unless, yes, you actually do make use of them. There are still people who keep an outside toilet on their property just for the nostalgia and to make a point of communing with nature in the most fundamental way. There are also people who purchase antique toilets and parts and decorate a whole room around the old timey style.

There are on-line auctions that deal specifically in the bowls and the tanks. Some buyers like the idea that many of these older models actually have a three gallon tank, which in many cases produces a proficient flush, though at the expense of using almost twice the water used by a modern toilet.

Most of early toilet models did not have a seat with a lid. Rather the user sat directly on the rim. However, the rim was made more in the shape of a seat than in modern toilets. Collectors of toilets range from manufacturers, such as Crapper & Co. in England, to Museums to individuals interested in chamber pots and technology. An immensely popular "Grossology" museum display has been touring the country, revealing the importance of modern devices that dispose of human waste.

The Crapper Co. in Great Britain has a huge collection of "water closets" or "loos" that were made early in the 1900s. Many are decorated with designs worthy of porcelain plate. Some have interesting styling including a fish forming the lower part of the bowl with the upper part looking like water swirling down his mouth.

Looking at these, it is obvious that although technology of toilets has advanced, the basics are still the same. The modern toilet as we know it began its development in 1596 when it was invented by John Harrington. Yet it was not used on a large scale for at least 180 years. JF Brondel introduced the valve type flush toilet in 1738. And it was not until the 1870s that the actual flush toilet was invented. Where technology has advanced is in how flushing is done. Since then flush valves, ball cocks, and trap designs have all made flushing away human waste more clean and more efficient.

Antique looking toilets have become so popular that manufacturers are making "vintage toilets" and the parts to maintain them. These have modern flush mechanisms, but appear in an older style. Those looking to collect older toilets or find one to decorate a bathroom, are currently in luck, as there are a fair number of people upgrading bathrooms and getting rid of the old toilets, for little expense or free one can be acquired. They are constantly available on Ebay, where on any given day one may find antique glass floats, bowls, tanks, and hardware.

In essence, anything that ages gracefully and in which people find an interest can become an antique, even toilets.