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THU · 5 NOV · No. 027 Sign in

Thursday, 5 November 2026 | Difficulty IV

The Case of the Substituted Plate

A collector returns a piece of silver Roman plate, calling it a forgery. The Bond Street antiquary swears he sold the genuine article. Both have records.

Engraved key object plate for The Case of the Substituted Plate.
Narrated by Dr Watson — the case as it stood before us
Victorian newspaper-style illustration for The Case of the Substituted Plate, set at Mr Berriman's gallery of antiquities, Bond Street.

Section I

The Scene

Hand-drawn case map for The Case of the Substituted Plate, showing Mr Berriman's gallery of antiquities, Bond Street.
The ground in question.
Setting
Mr Berriman's gallery of antiquities, Bond Street
Time
Thursday afternoon, third Thursday of September 1893
Weather
Cool; the September light low on the silver
Atmosphere
A long narrow Bond Street gallery; glazed cabinets along the walls; the smell of polish and old velvet; gas-lamps already lit at four o'clock.

Section II

The Suspects

  • Mr Berriman

    Antiquary, eighteen years

    A precise, careful dealer of fifty, of an honest standing in the trade. He had photographed the genuine plate at the sale, and the photograph showed the genuine pre-Christian hallmark.

  • Mr Audley

    Collector of antiquities, Cadogan Square

    A florid, prosperous gentleman of sixty, much trusted in the City and a regular client of Mr Berriman's. He had paid the three hundred pounds at the sale and had taken the piece home in his own brougham.

  • Mr Audley's son

    Younger Audley, twenty-six, a Cambridge man

    A clever, sharp-mannered young gentleman of twenty-six, lately down from Trinity. He had been at his father's elbow at the sale on Tuesday and had carried the plate up to the morning-room himself.

  • Mr Pelmer

    Rival antiquary in Cecil Court

    A shrewd, hard-mannered dealer of fifty-five, who had bid against Mr Berriman at the auction in March from which the genuine plate had been bought. He had been heard to remark, after his loss, that he should be glad to see Mr Berriman's reputation suffer.

Section III

The Evidence

  1. The hallmark on the returned plate

    Holmes laid the returned plate under his lens. The hallmark, on close inspection, was post-1850 - a Sheffield assay-mark of the fifties, a respectable but plainly modern silversmith's stamp. The piece itself had been finished in the manner of the Roman style but was, on careful look, of Sheffield manufacture.

  2. Mr Berriman's photograph at the sale

    The antiquary had photographed the genuine plate at the Tuesday sale, with the customer's hand visibly upon it for the record. The photograph showed the genuine pre-Christian hallmark - the very mark a Cambridge man down from Trinity would recognise.

  3. Mr Audley's son at the sale

    The younger Audley had been at his father's elbow at the Tuesday sale and had carried the plate up to the morning-room himself in the brougham. He had had the piece in private possession from the moment of its leaving Bond Street.

  4. Mr Pelmer's auction-grievance

    Mr Pelmer had been heard to wish Mr Berriman's reputation ill. He had had no opportunity at the disputed plate, however; he had not been at Bond Street since Friday and had been at his Cecil Court shop until eight o'clock on Tuesday evening, by his clerk's careful word.

  5. The younger Audley's gambling-book

    On a quiet afternoon's enquiry through a club-friend, Holmes learnt that the younger Audley had standing debts at three sporting-houses to a sum of one hundred and forty pounds. The debts were due before Michaelmas; he had no means by his quarter's allowance to meet them.

Section IV

Statements & Testimony

  • Mr Audley

    Collector

    “"I took the plate home in my own brougham on Tuesday evening, sir, with my son. I set it upon the morning-room sideboard. I looked at it again on Wednesday morning and saw the modern hallmark for the first time. My son was at the sale and at my elbow through; he could speak to it as well as I."”

  • Mr Berriman

    Antiquary

    “"My photograph is upon my desk, sir. The hallmark on the piece I sold is in the photograph. The hallmark on the piece returned is not the hallmark in the photograph. The substitution was not made in my gallery."”

Section V

Your Verdict

Three picks render a verdict. Name the culprit, choose the method, and nail the keystone clue. We score all three — partial credit if you got the culprit but missed the method, full credit only if you got Holmes’s exact reasoning.

1. Name the culprit
2. Choose the method

Which of these accounts of the deed best matches the evidence?

3. Pick the keystone clue

Of all the evidence above, which single piece nails the case?

Choose a culprit, a method, and a keystone clue to render your verdict.