Help With Makers mark/ID on Coin Spoon

[SilverDreams]

Howdy again,

This is a coin spoon that was in a box of rando flatware from a thrift store (again)

I didn't even notice the "J.F. Butler" until I was taking pictures just now, but I am thinking maybe that is similar to like your Shreve & Co. s where there is a jeweler stamped and also a manufacturer.

I can't find this mark or anything about JF Butler online (there is one eBay listing but it is expired and thus no pictures so I can't even compare makers marks...humph.)

If anyone can help I would appreciate it!

Thanks a lot!

[dognose]

Hi,

A read of this article will help you: http://www.925-1000.com/a_watts.html

Trev.

[Traintime]

Trev has given you the true identity of your Mr. Butler......but just in case the other name does come up in some other's search Jewelers Circular (1898) shows ads for one J. F. Butler Potsdam N. Y. employing an expert watchmaker/engraver, though this might be a few decades too late for coin silver.

[SilverDreams]

You guys are absolutely encyclopedic. I bow to your incredible knowledge base!! Thank you so much!!

Traintime I have to ask, are you a railfan? My dad is heavily involved in that community :) Me not so much but whenever I see an artifact of the golden age of railroad in my hunts I buy it and set it aside for the next birthday/fathers day/christmas. hehe.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate it so much. The information is vast!!

[silverly]

John Francis Butler is probably the retailer of this spoon. He was an apprentice jeweler in Potsdam, New York in 1880 and appears to have spent his entire life there. Would someone point me to a positive attribution of the manufacturer's mark on this spoon? If the retailer's mark is correct, the spoon may be late for what is known of this manufacturer's mark.

[dognose]

I suppose a slim possibility may be that these were old stock of Butler & McCarty, and acquired by John Francis Butler? Could there be a family connection there?

Trev.

[silverly]

There is no apparent family connection. John F Butler's father David was born in Ireland about ten years after Franklin Butler of Butler & McCarty was born in Connecticut. David Butler was a common laborer.

[Traintime]

Hmmm, this is getting confusing. Simply, the name on the handle is a mis-stamp of the James P. Butler stamp shown in the American marks (cleary a P. middle intial there, and all other letters match by unique style). So our John F. Butler apparently had nothing to do with this piece (but it's nice to have the information here). If there is a problem with the original attribution of James P.'s mark, that's another question....I'm trusting what's shown (past research) and what I expect Trev. was referencing at first.

[Traintime]

You guys are absolutely encyclopedic. I bow to your incredible knowledge base!! Thank you so much!!

Traintime I have to ask, are you a railfan? My dad is heavily involved in that community :) Me not so much but whenever I see an artifact of the golden age of railroad in my hunts I buy it and set it aside for the next birthday/fathers day/christmas. hehe.

Thanks again guys, I appreciate it so much. The information is vast!!

Rare photo of people at water hole station of Shasta Springs Calif. labeled "Train time" (c/o UC Berkeley): https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf7q2nb62g/

In other words, time to finish that drink or meal and get on board...information useful to soldiers stationed in Europe where it was a good idea to keep your eye on that clock, lest you want a long walk.

[silverly]

So our John F. Butler apparently had nothing to do with this piece (but it's nice to have the information here). If there is a problem with the original attribution of James P.'s mark, that's another question....I'm trusting what's shown (past research) and what I expect Trev. was referencing at first.

The upper serif on the "F" in the incised name on this piece looked a little odd from the start. After having another look at it, to me it appears that there is something wrong with the image itself. There appear to be misplaced pixels over part of the P.