An antique bankers lamp is an object of beauty and desire that should be cherished and well taken care of. In my opinion, there are two kinds of bankers lamps and they are ones made out of solid bronze and those that are just bronze plated. By drawing the line of classification between these two mediums, we can then sub-categorize each lamp appropriately.
If you happen to come across an antique banker lamp that is made out of pure bronze then it is very valuable and worthwhile to either purchase or keep it. It is important to make a point crystal clear here; antiquing bronze is a process rather then bronze that has aged naturally. The antiquing process for a bankers lamp is no different then anything else. The process works best and is only attempted, or should only be attempted, on pure brass that is free of any inconsistencies in the metal. Therefore, if you come across a solid antique bankers lamp then you have found a worthwhile treasure.
There is also something you can find known as plated antique brass. Plated brass is a thin sheet of antique brass that has been treated and antiqued appropriately; the sheet of treated brass is then applied to the lamp to give off the illusion that the lamp is made out of bronze when it really is not. This does have its advantages despite the fact that the lamp is not pure brass. For starters, these lamps are cheaper and if the plate was treated properly will end up giving all of the bankers lamps they created the same look and appearance as the real deal.
The only thing you want to take into consideration are the price of the lamp and if owning a genuine piece of antique bronze means anything to you. I personally would recommend the plated version of the antique banker lamp because if it is done by someone with experience will look no different then the real deal, but the choice is still yours to make!