Flatware
As the name suggests, flatware usually refers to serving and eating utensils such as forks, knives, and spoons that have not been coated in silver.
Silverware
While silverware also refers to eating and serving utensils such as knives, spoons, and forks, items bearing this description will be manufactured from various grades of silver (regular flatware is usually manufactured from different stainless steel angles).
Pure silver provides a unique benefit in killing germs better than any other type of metal. This is one reason it was so regularly used in the production of eating utensils until the late 1800sUnfortunately, sincece then, it has become prohibitively expensive to produce genuine silverware, except in cases where it is specially ordered.
Related