Middletown Silver Company

Q: I found this silver trivet at a yard sale. It's about 10 1/4 inches in diameter when closed and 14 1/4 inches long when extended. There are three stamped hallmarks with crowns over the letters "M," "S" and "C." It's also marked "silver deposit on nickel silver." Can you tell me who made it and the value?

A: The three letter marks were used by Middletown Silver Co. of Middletown, Conn., on nickel silver. Nickel silver doesn't actually contain any silver. It looks like silver, but it's actually an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. But the "silver deposit" mark means that your trivet was also plated with silver. Middletown Silver Co. was in business from 1899 until about 1945, when it merged with J.A. Otterbein Co. Expandable trivets like yours sell for about $20.