In my last column, I talked about the heady days of silver buying in the 1970s through the 1990s. That run continued well until we got to the stock market crash in 2008, when the antiques market also collapsed. The buyers who had purchased silver did okay in many respects because, while antiques were down, silver was not as far down because it had bullion value, the latter being a constant in antique silver that shores up prices, particularly when the economy craps out. It was not a deep save as the buyers were not there, but it was not as weak as brown furniture was/is. The other change that happened in this period was the passing of my mothers generation (the War Generation) as well as the older Baby Boomers. The market saw a lot of their wedding present silver dumped by the heirs, and this trend continues to the present. It also led to what I think has been one of the most insidious campaigns ever waged--that is the view that young people dont want silver so we should sell it. I hear this, and probably every antiques dealer has heard this. What troubles me about the statement is that its accepted with such absolute certainty as the sun rising in the East or Doritos selling out in the grocery on Super Bowl Sunday. Yes, many younger people do not want to use silver. But why is that? If you follow the narrative of the young people dont want silver mindset, you hear that they are too busy and dont want to care for it. Hmmm.is that the response of the young generation or is that a product of the older generation who gave up using silver when work and life changed so dramatically in this country during the 1970s? Fine dining disappeared for much of middle class America and was replaced by the modern floating schedule of events that everyone in a household follows. So is the better question, did interest in silver wane because the original users never showed their children how much fun it could be to have silver? Now, I am not bashing modernity but only pointing out that I am not convinced that the idea of this younger generation hating silver is really valid. Adding fuel to that mindset is a hideous body of articles, not written I believe by any human, that list silver, china, glassware and a host of other items as worth nothing. These faux articles pop up on various news websites but with no author or attribution. Again, I ask the questionsays who? My daughters both love silver. Their friends, when they come over, love silver. The silver market, despite downfalls in the antiques market, still remains strong. It aint all being bought by geriatric boomers. It is being bought by someone. I can hear the answer from some readers that it is being bought by silver stackers who want it for the bullion value. Perhaps, but I also recall being told back in the heady stacker days of the 1970s that much hollowware is in fact hollow and thus does not have as much silver as bars and coins. So, not quite buying that either. Silver in my mind still remains a wonderful area to collect. It is beautiful and rare and wonderful to use. All three pluses in my book. Does it need to be polished, yes, but so what. Life is not always about getting to the next activity. One can polish silver to Gershwin or Led Zeppelin or a rerun of The Crown. When used at a party, it represents elegance. So please, lets stop the silliness that silver is dead. Long live the flatware and hollowware! Born to collect should be the motto of Peter Seiberts family. Raised in Central Pennsylvania, Seibert has been collecting and writing about antiques for more than three decades. By day, he is a museum director and has worked in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Virginia and New Mexico. In addition, he advises and consults with auction houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly about American furniture and decorative arts. Seiberts writings include books on photography, American fraternal societies and paintings. He and his family are restoring a 1905 arts and crafts house filled with years worth of antique treasures found in shops, co-ops and at auctions.