What's the difference between a mug and a tankard?

In this category, very little. Dealers use the two words for one object, and 181 titles say tankard while pairing it with mug in the same breath. The lidded vessel most people picture isn't what the word signals here. Only a few titles mention a lid at all.

Which period turns up most often?

Victorian, by a clear margin. It accounts for the largest single block of dated listings, with the 1930s next, then the Georgian group, the 1920s and the Edwardian years. The dated field runs from 1700 to 1960, and 290 of 524 listings carry a clean year. A run of pieces dated into the 1960s, 70s and 80s shows the category carrying on past the antique threshold into vintage.

Are all silver mugs solid silver?

No. Silver plate and Old Sheffield plate together make up a small share of the archive, though they account for far more of what's listed at any given moment. A few pieces aren't silver-bodied at all. The archive includes silver-mounted glass, carved oak, horn, a boar's tooth handle, a tusk handle and a Wedgwood black basalt mug with silver mounts.

Which assay offices appear on these mugs?

London leads the title counts, followed by Sheffield, Birmingham and Chester. Beyond those four, Exeter, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin each show up only a few times. Newcastle pieces sit near the top of the range.

How common are silver mugs on Sellingantiques?

Around 57 are listed in a year, handled by 49 different dealers. That spread says something about the form. It's one nearly every silver dealer touches at some point rather than a specialist corner of the trade.

Do decorated christening mugs differ from plain ones?

They sit higher in the range. Narrative and novelty subjects recur often enough to count as a theme: nursery rhymes, Noah's Ark, birds, rabbits, cherubs, the man in the moon, a wolf-and-crane fable, a girl with a dog. Plain bodies are the baseline, often with a cartouche left empty. Engine turning and gilt interiors show up in a scattering of titles.

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Antique Silver Mugs

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A single-handled silver drinking cup, made for beer and other drinks from the 17th century on, and from the 18th century given as a christening present to a child.