Teaspoons and forks come in several sizes, while oval soup or dessert spoons are often seven inches long and salad forks are traditionally six inches in length. Sterling is a better investment that silverplate since sterling holds its value. Buy sterling, even it you have to purchase one piece over several years, Bremer suggests. While dealers agree that condition, availability and demand are key to determining value for tableware, they do not agree upon the value of price guides. Levy says price guides are not the best source of information.
Price guides are usually high and consequently, they create unrealistic expectations.
They are often prepared by people who aren't in the marketplace, people who are writers, not dealers.