Old Sheffield Plate wine coaster with wooden base interior c.1860
Sure to have seen many a bottle of wine over the years.

Old Sheffield plate was invented in the middle of the eighteenth century and its manufacture continued until about the 1860’s, by which time electroplating was well established. It was made by fusing a layer of silver on to copper. The designs used by the manufacturers were copied from popular silverware and much Old Sheffield Plate was made my silversmiths. The plate has a faint glow with a blueish tinge and is less dull than electroplated silver.