What is it?

I found this uh-mazing thing at Goodwill on Monday.... a couple weeks ago...you know when I wasn't keeping up with my blogging? Yeah, I'm just now getting around to finishing the post.

So what is my mystery item? Maybe someone out there can help me know for sure, but underneath it has a stamp Meriden B. Company 1779 with a set of scales.

 It has some really pretty and intricate details Stamped(?) or carved into it.

After lengthy internet research all I could find out was this:

• "Meriden B Company was a manufacturer that made silverware out of "black silver" the kind of silver that was economical doing the time, it still had the flare of expensive silver settings and today the silver alone is of high value, since refined silver was getting high in value and the price of refined silver was costly at the time, Meriden B Company started offering silver that was not "refined" before it was marked, it was before "nickle silver" so the silver is still 100 percent! The product itself will appear black before you polish it, which should be left in that state if you want to sell it. All Meriden B Company is over 100 years old and have a historical value, family's that can trace back 100 year will know about the Meriden B Company product. Meriden B Company went out of business after becoming well known for these kinds of products." (www.wikianswers.com)

• The Meriden Britannia Company was formed in 1852 in Meriden, Connecticut. The Rogers Bros firm was purchased by Meriden Britannia in 1862, thereby acquiring the 1847 Rogers Bros line. In 1878, they had a store at Union Square in New York City and a manufacturing facility in West Meriden, CT. According to their 1878 catalogue, the company won a first place medal at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the "large variety of silver plated white metal hollow ware, of excellent quality and finish, and of tasteful designs." They were one of the original companies that joined together to form the International Silver Co. in 1898.  - (www.silvercollecting.com)

 So the fantastic thing is that it is over a hundred years old!
But I really have no idea what it's worth. Or where to find out what it is worth.I checked into Antique's Roadshow but they're not coming here this year. I may have to hold onto it for a bit. Who knows?