I recently came across a fish serving set with ivory handles. There are several sets of hallmarks - one set on the blade of the knife, and two identical sets on the caps on the handles. The prong portion of the fork is not marked.
I believe the silver portion of the handles is sterling, but the blade and the fork may not be? I see what appears to be plate loss on the back of the fork, and edges of the engraving on the knife - but I am not certain if I am interpreting it correctly...
The marks on the handles are slightly obscured but seem to include "JR" in a single oval cartouche, the Sheffield crown mark, the lion passant, and the Queen Victory duty mark. There does not appear to be a date letter.
I am really confused by the marks on the blade. The appear to be capitalized scripted "P" "G" a Maltese cross in a shield, a six pointed star or flower in a circle, and an uppercase scripted "S" in a shield; followed by JR in a butterfly shaped cartouche; that could also be described as two hearts turned sideways and overlapping.
Would this set be attributed to Joseph Rodgers? I have read that he used the Maltese Cross and Star, but in the examples I have seen, they usually appear in reversed order and in one single cartouche. See this thread for an example: http://925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23181#p83529
Any thoughts on the rest of the marks? Is it unusual for the set of marks on the handle to not included a date letter?
Thanks for your help!
