Nowadays, silverware is considered something special. In our age of practical stainless steel, using silver seems to make less sense than it did in the past; silver tarnishes when exposed to air – stainless steel doesn't, which makes the latter infinitely easier to clean. However, an old set of your grandmother's good silver is priceless to you, though you may have very little call to use it. In fact, except for special occasions, many people are somewhat wary of ruining their antique flatware, meaning that for most of the year, except for Thanksgiving, it's probably just sitting around in a cabinet.