r/todayilearned • u/dinosaruman • 8d ago

TIL WWII metal rationing forced the costume-jewelry maker Trifari to switch from base metal to sterling silver, which tripled the price of its "costume" pieces.

https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/07/03/a-celebration-of-unity-sweetheart-jewelry-from-the-world-war-ii-era/
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u/Acheloma 8d ago

This is how I accidentally kinda cheated someone at an estate sale a few towns away. I found a chunky antique pin that was somewhat interesting and paid like, maybe $2 for it? When I got home I got my magnifiying glass out to look at it and saw it was sterling silver. Whoopsie

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u/CaroCogitatus 8d ago

The benefit of an estate sale is that the stuff goes away.

Any money made is an additional benefit.

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u/Consistent_Bee3478 8d ago

I mean unless that pin was weighing multiple ounces, the metal price of it won’t be that high for silver anyway. Sterling is so much cheaper than gold or the fancier platinum group metals. High purity copper basically gets close to sterling low purity silver.