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Ayadgar
Posts : 1
Join date : 2024-03-10

Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not Empty Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not

Fri Mar 15, 2024 5:05 pm
Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not 20240310
Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not 20240311
Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not 20240312
Hi,

I thank you for allowing me to join this group. I found this spoon with unusual marking on it. Any information would be appreciated ! 3 photos attached.

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The Cat's Mother
The Cat's Mother
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Join date : 2021-05-19
Location : UK

Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not Empty Re: Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not

Fri Mar 15, 2024 6:17 pm
Hello  @Ayadgar , you have certainly set a poser here. I've looked online and in my copy of Bradbury's book of hallmarks, and I am confused.
Before I start, please understand that I have no specialist knowledge of hallmarks, or of historical silver, and you would be better off asking at an antiques shop, a seller at a specialist fair, or an auction house that deals in silver. What follows is the result of a fairly shallow search.

Firstly, although I can't say for certain, I think it is silver. None of the marks are consistent with silver plate marks, and the silver metal doesn't show signs of wearing through despite obvious signs of use.
Secondly, the ornate lettering MH is likely to be the owner's monogram. This was fairly common, it showed ownership and discouraged anyone from stealing the spoons. Posh folk had a crest too.
Thirdly, the hallmark. This is a puzzle:
a) I think the top mark is the Edinburgh town mark. The usual mark is of a square towered castle, but in 1824 there was an alternative mark where the castle had spires.(there was something similar in 1792, but I really don't think your spoon is so old), The mark is not quite the same as that shown in Bradbury, but it's nearly alike.
b) The circled P is the year mark for 1871, so that's an anomaly, and I don't know why it has been struck twice.
c) There is no thistle mark or a duty mark, which I would expect.
d) The T.B is probably the maker's mark. My online search didn't show up any Edinburgh makers with those initials whose mark looked like the one on your spoon. There is, however, a maker in Birmingham - Thomas Bartleet - who was registered in 1812 and active in 1818 to 1824. His mark is almost identical to the one on your spoon, and is a mark stated to be seen on spoons specifically, so not impossible here.

So I'm afraid ultimately I haven't been a great deal of help to you, sorry, but I hope it gives a small clue about the sort of things to look for and ask about. In your place I would ask someone who sells antique silver.
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Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not Empty Re: Hi any information on this spoon I can't figure out if it is silver or not

Sat Mar 16, 2024 10:28 am
I can say this,
There are no Assay marks. IE from anywhere in the world. I did look around. The stamping looks English.

I would bet it is plated as it had to have a purity AND where it was stamped from.. it has neither.

So plated it is.
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