Q: I got this silver tea set as a wedding gift 50 years ago. Knowing that I'm not an elegant person and would only store it in a closet, I let a favorite young aunt display it in her home. She died recently and the tea set was returned to me. It has this mark on the bottom. Can you tell me a possible value and something about the maker?

A: Your tea set was made by the Pairpoint Manufacturing Co., which opened in New Bedford, Mass., in 1880. The words "quadruple plate" indicate that your tea set is covered with four thin layers of silver and therefore contains four times the amount of silver found on standard silver plate. Most quadruple plate was made in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Pairpoint was one of the largest producers of quadruple-plated silver. Mt. Washington Glass Co. became part of Pairpoint in 1894 and in 1900 the two companies merged to form Pairpoint Corp. Your silver is marked "Pairpoint Mfg. Co.," so it was made no later than 1900. A three-piece set like yours could sell for about $100 to $150.