Hi. I am a new member and I need help understanding the marks on a James E Blake Co cigarette case that I bought for $1 in a thrift shop. It is marked Sterling, but also has the numbers 22 and 1252 stamped on it. Can anyone tell me what those numbers mean? The company was American and it operated from 1922 to 1938.
The numbers don’t really have any significant meaning - they’re just model numbers, used by the manufacturer. If you had access to old company records, they would probably give you an idea of when the case was made, but those kinds of records are usually long-gone.
The only thing that’s certain is that the case is sterling silver, at least .925 purity. Weighing it and checking the current spot price of silver will tell you its minimum value, as raw silver. That would be just the floor value - as a collectible, it would probably sell for more than that, though cigarette-related items tend to be out of fashion in some circles. Check the “sold” listings on eBay to get some idea of what collectors might actually pay for something like this.
Here’s a recent sale of a similar case, but in much rougher condition than yours:
Thank you for your response, Jeff. I really appreciate your comments. The total weight is 109 grams. I hear you about being a bit out of favour in some quarters. Marijuana is legal here, so maybe someone would like it for their special smokables, lol. I also like that it wasn’t monogrammed. That might be a selling point. We will see. Thanks again.
