Are silver coasters usually sold in pairs?

Yes. Pair appears in 212 of the 401 titles, so two at a time is the standard unit, and the form was made in matched pairs so bottles could circulate in both directions. Singles are common at the lower end. Sets of three, four, five and six also appear, listed as set of four or suite of five.

How much of this category is solid silver?

A minority. Sixty-five titles say sterling and 24 say solid, against 142 saying plated, 54 plate and 29 Sheffield plate. The sterling group covers two quite different things: Georgian hallmarked coasters, and a large block of 20th-century pairs described as vintage sterling silver wine or champagne coasters.

What period do most of these come from?

The dated field runs 1750 to 1960. Named-period labels are led by 19th Century at 49, then Victorian at 45, Georgian at 39 and Edwardian at 39. The 20th century holds its own, with 35 listings from the 1920s, 33 from the 1960s and 23 from the 1930s. A buyer meets as many interwar and mid-century pieces as Georgian ones.

Which assay towns appear in the titles?

London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Chester and Edinburgh all turn up. Chester is the rarest, named twice. Hallmark years quoted in titles include 1756, 1764, 1796 and 1798 at the early end, and 1962, 1965, 1968 and 1969 among the mid-century sterling pairs.

Why are teapot stands listed as coasters?

The heading covers a range of small table stands sold under the same word. Teapot stands account for 18 titles. Alongside them sit sets of sterling-and-glass drinks mats in fours and sixes, pin dishes and trivets. They make up a small but steady stream, under a tenth of the category.

Do coasters on wheels exist?

They do, and they are scarce. A wine wagon, a wine trolley coaster, a double champagne coaster cart and a triple drinks cart between them account for a handful of listings. They sit well up the range when they appear.