Summary for epns silverware composition Discussion
EPNS silverware composition is the focus keyphrase here: Varun Kumar asked how much nickel is in EPNS, and Ted Mooney explained that EPNS means electroplated nickel-silver, also called german silver. He noted that nickel silver contains nickel, copper, and sometimes zinc, but no silver, and that there is no single fixed formulation. Ted added that the nickel content can sometimes be inferred from the alloy designation, such as NS-12 meaning 12% nickel. In a separate cleaning question, Ted suggested using aluminum with hot water and baking soda to create an electrolytic action that can remove black tarnish, with silver polish only for fine tuning. Later, when Tracey Chaplin asked whether an EPNS teapot could leach metals into tea, Ted said the risk is unlikely to be significant; at most it might cause a slight metallic taste, and if it tastes bad you probably would not use it anyway.
Q. Please let us know the % of nickel in epns silverware.
L varun kumar
The Leela Palace – Bangalore, India
2001
A. Hi, Varun. EPNS means electroplated nickel-silver. Nickel silver is also sometimes called german silver. It has nickel and copper in it, and zinc (although zinc can be inappropriate for food service), but no silver in it.
But there is no one single formulation for nickel silver. Sometimes you can tell the nickel percentage from the name of the alloy, though: for example, NS-12 is 12 percent nickel.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
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A. EPNS is a mixture of copper and nickel electronically coated with silver.
Nickel ‘silver’, German ‘Silver’, etc., is not plated and is not marked epns. it is a mixture of nickel copper and sometimes other metals, no silver . On the older epns items the plating is thicker. So if it is thickly plated the silver content may be 3% or thereabouts. So a kilo at 3% has 30 grams of silver worth about £24 (June 2025) plus the value of the copper and nickel, approx. £7 a kilo. So it is not worthless in large amounts. Dealers at Kempton Park and other antique fairs pay up to £12 a kilo.
I feel sorry for people trying to find out the value of silver , gold and jewellery in the uk. It’s very hit and miss. Find a friendly dealer at an antique fair, treat him fairly and offer to pay a small fee for his help as he or she is not there to provide a free information service. And even then be very careful. Gold , silver and valuable objects often brings the worst out of people; don’t be in a rush to sell but don’t be rude either, as people need to earn a living. Hope this helps .
Q. There is a subject I have been interested in for years. It’s the gold content of antique silver. Does antique silver, especially pre-Victorian, contain gold on occasion due to more primitive refinement techniques? I know some very old lead can have a high content of silver for the same reason.
Steve Pennington [returning]
hobbyist – Devon
June 16, 2025
A. Unfortunately I have no expertise in antiques or pre-Victorian silver. However, one of our regular responders, Goran Budija, is a metals conservator and he might possibly know. I’ll try to alert him to this thread.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
EPNS cleaning
Q. I would like to know the best way to clean EPNS silverware as mine is black and most silver cleaners tend to make it worse. Any suggestions?
Mavis Northmore
– UK
A. Mavis,
You can buy (I forget the name) a silver cleaning kit consisting of a piece of aluminum with ‘instructions’.
You could get some flat pieces of aluminum (I’m pretty sure it is aluminum), put them in a bowl with the metal EPNS (knifes & forks, perchance?) touching them. Then get some hot water and add some dollops of sodium bicarbonate (i.e., good old baking soda [in bulk on
or
Amazon [affil link]
). Leave to ‘stew’ for a day or so. An electrolytic action will occur and the black, or some of it, will/should disappear.
It does work … for fine tuning you might have to use some silver polish. Works on pure silver, too!
Cheers!
Freeman Newton [deceased]
R.I.P. old friend (It is our sad duty to
advise that Freeman passed away 4/21/12)
Removal of silver plate from E.P.N.S cutlery
Q. I make house wares (candle holders, coat hooks, etc) and jewelry from reclaimed nickel and E.P.N.S.cutlery. How do I strip old silverplate from E.P.N.S cutlery without damaging (or as little as possible) the nickel silver underneath. Polishing it out removes too much detail.
Heath Stanley
– London, England
2003
Q. I have Canteen of Viners silver rose cutlery. The e.p.n.s. is badly worn after 32 years service. Can you advise me, what should I do with the cutlery now.
Mrs J Pearce
– Scotland, UK
2003
A. Hi Mrs. Pearce,
The cutlery can certainly be re-plated by most any silver plating shop. But re-plating of old stuff always involves far more labor than is involved in the original mass-production process and you might find it to cost more than you wish to spend. Ask for a couple of quotes.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.
Q. If you used an EPNS tea pot to brew tea on a gas stove, would the “german silver” containing nickel and copper possibly “leach” into the tea, and would this be toxic for you?
Tracey Chaplin
– Durban KwaZuluNatal South Africa
May 12, 2010
A. Hi, Tracey. Millions of people eat with worn silver plated flatware where the underlying nickel-silver is exposed. It might impart a slightly metallic “off” taste, and it doesn’t look good, but can’t be terribly dangerous. In the case of water being boiled in it, recognize that most hot and cold water pipes are copper, and soldered with tin-lead, and the leaching isn’t significant enough to be a health concern for most people.
My take would be if it tastes bad you won’t want to make tea with it anyway; and if it doesn’t taste bad, I think it’s highly unlikely to be a problem.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
Need quick confidential answers? $25
Need project assistance? $100/hr.