Auctions: Philadelphia-area auctions focus on silver and gold

Three voluminous sales between now and next weekend will market the metallic: sterling silver table services, gold coins - and a chaise longue entirely clad in copper.

Among the three sales, the top prices are expected to go for the silver that is a highlight of Wiederseim Associates' antiques auction beginning at 9 a.m. June 18 at the Ludwig's Corner firehouse, 1325 Pottstown Pike (Route 100). At least two of the several dozen lots in the 500-lot sale, which includes items from the estates of Dixon D. Brinton, Suzanne Newhall Alexander, and P.C. Dewey, could bring five-figure prices.

The top lot of silver is a Tiffany & Co. "Chrysanthemum" service for 12. Weighing in at 249 troy ounces, it includes luncheon, dinner, and butter knives; luncheon, dinner, seafood, salad, and berry forks; and soup, bouillon, dessert, and grapefruit spoons. The lot has a presale estimate of $15,000 to $20,000, according to the online calendar accessible at www.wiederseim.com.

Also in the sale are a quantity of individual "Chrysanthemum" pieces. Other flatware includes a 1910 Gorham "Fairfax" service ($1,200 to $1,500); a 1936 Wallace "Sir Christopher" partial service for 12 ($2,500 to $3,500); and a Lunt "English Shell" partial service for eight ($1,500 to $2,000).

Another silver highlight is a massive (321 troy ounces) tea service made by Bailey Banks & Biddle for the 1913 wedding of Helene Marie Schmidt, heir to the Schmidt's Brewery family, and Baron Carl Czoernig-von Czernhausen. It has a presale estimate of $9,000 to $12,000.

Expected to command a five-figure price is a rare surveyor's compass made around 1790 by Goldsmith Chandlee of Winchester, Va., for John Hooe. Hooe is identified in the catalog as plantation manager for George Washington's adopted stepson, John Parke Custis, and the compass may have been a gift to him from Washington. It has a presale estimate of $20,000 to $25,000.

Previews are from 2 to 5 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. next Friday, and 7 a.m. to sale time June 18 at the firehouse, on Route 100 about a mile north of Route 401. For further information, call 610-827-1910.