Dionne Quintuplet Spoon Set

Q: I discovered that our family has five silver-plated spoons with figures of girls on them along with five different names: Annette, Cecile, Emilie, Marie and Yvonne. They are not particularly shiny. Can you tell me anything about them, their value and whether I can use any cleaning supplies to brighten the spoons without damaging them?

A: You have a set of Dionne Quintuplet spoons. The end of each handle has a figure of one of the girls. The identical quintuplets were born in Callander, Ontario, Canada, on May 28, 1934. They became wards of the state when they were only a few months old. They were put under the guardianship of Dr. Alon R. Dafoe, the doctor who delivered them, and lived in the Dafoe Hospital and Nursery across the road from the family farm. Their mother opened a souvenir shop on the farm and sold items picturing the girls and souvenirs like “fertility stones” from the farm. The publicity about their birth made the quintuplets famous throughout the world. Up to 6,000 visitors a day came to watch the girls play, and I was one of them. The area known as “Quintland” became the biggest tourist attraction in Ontario. The girls returned to live with their family in 1943. Thousands of special dolls and souvenirs were made picturing the quints at different ages. Emilie died in 1954, Marie in 1970 and Yvonne in 2001. Annette and Cecile still live in Canada. You can use any brand of silver polish to clean the spoons, but if the silver plate has worn off no amount of cleaning will help. A set of spoons like yours is worth $60 to $75.