Collecting silver spoons falls into two categories - you can collect decorative spoons, purely for display, or you can collect some of the many Georgian, Victorian and later silver spoons and use them. They are perfect for afternoon tea with your fine china tea set.

Many collectors like to have artefacts that are both, collectable and useful and solid silver or silver plated spoons can be had on a very small budget. If you are prepared to hunt around there vast numbers of affordable spoons.

The first metal spoons were brought to Britain by the Romans, although they fell into disuse when the Romans left and the population returned to using simpler spoons and it was not until the medieval period that metal spoons came into fashion once more. Pewter and brass spoons would have been used and the nobility and royalty would have used gold and silver.

From the 16th century onwards Apostle spoons, usually made of silver with figures representing Christ and the 12 Apostles became popular baptism gifts. Apostle spoons went out of favour in Britain after the Reformation, but remained popular in Catholic Europe.

Guide to Apostle spoon emblems:

• St Peter - key or sometimes a fish
• St James Major - pilgrim's staff and gourd
• St Andrew - saltaire cross
• St John - chalice
• St Philip - staff with cross on top
• St James Minor - fuller's bat
• St Thomas - spear
• St Bartholomew - butcher's knife
• St Matthew - wallet or axe
• St Matthias - halberd
• St Thaddeus - carpenter' square
• St Simon - saw

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain good quality items could be manufactured quickly and cheaply and the middle classes had money to spend and many chose to spend it on household items, such as silver or silver-plated cutlery.

Many of the antique spoons that can be picked up for less than £20 will date from the 19th and 20th centuries. Be careful when you shop around, flashy antique shops occupying expensive premises are not going to give you the best deal. Specialist dealers are more for collectors with deep pockets. If you want to get a bargain try antique fairs, antique centres and, of course, internet auction sites like eBay.

With such a huge choice out there you should decide what you want to buy before you start. You might want to go for spoons that can be used on a regular basis, such as serving, table, dessert, tea, caddy or sugar spoons. Some people prefer to collect souvenir spoons or Apostle spoons. You might want to concentrate on the spoons of a particular era such as pre-20th century or art deco. You should also consider whether you want to collect just sterling silver spoons or also include continental silver or EPNS (silver plate). You can often buy continental silver cheaply at antique fairs. Continental silver has a lower silver content, 80 per cent as opposed to 92.5 per cent. If you keep your eyes open when shopping around there is some lovely German silver from the art nouveau era out there.

You should also look out for Mappin and Webb coffee bean spoons. A boxed set recently went for less than £20 on eBay. You should be able to get a silver plated set for around £10. Coffee bean spoons are also sold singly, but it is definitely worth holding out for a boxed set.

If you want to start collecting spoons the choice is huge and you will spend many happy hours hunting around at antique fairs and centres. You should also check out your local charity shops, there are many bargains to be had.