Maker on a small snuff box please and Swedish marks explained

[emptguy]

Hello again forum.

I recently purchased a small snuff box which I believe is Dutch. In the bottom of the box is a sword mark with a duty restitution mark stamped into it. On the lid near the top is another sword mark. The grid behind the pictures is in centimetres by the way.

I have also found what seem to be Swedish duty marks of a triple crown in an oval next to an "S" in a hexagon on one side of the lid.



I have circled and enlarged the marks to the top, left and right (Swedish). The bottom mark circled is a quality mark "830".

I think the three letter mark inside a flattened hexagon just above and to the right of the "M2" mark is the Dutch maker. I can't make it all out under magnification. I think it could be _NK, _NR, _MK or _MR. Can't make out that first character.



I thought M2 was the Swedish date mark for 1794 which is clearly wrong. However I found an old thread in the forum suggesting M is for Schoonhoven and the 2 is for the alloy 833 purity which does match the "830 on the lid.

Does anyone have enough detail to identify the maker please? And are these Swedish marks import marks?

Thank you in advance.

Ian T

[oel]

Hi Ian,

M2 in a shaded/striped background is indeed for; Waarborgkantoor /Assay office Schoonhoven,
2nd standard silver and used 1931-1984. The sword mark for small work silver minimum 833 fineness = 83.3% pure silver and used on small work without date letter and office mark and in combination with maker's mark.
We also see the export key attached to the sword mark: mark to indicate 2/3 duty restitution upon export valid 1853-1953
The maker's mark could read NK* for; N. K. Kok, registered in Schoonhoven, active 1920-1961 and this particular mark used 1932-1961
Yes Swedish marks; National control mark, Triple Crowns-Cat 's paw in horizontal oval frame import mark used 1912-1988, and S for silver in a hexagonal for minimum fineness of 830, see:
https://www.925-1000.com/Fsweden_Date_Code.html

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=33238&p=84259&hilit=M2#p84259

Peter.

[emptguy]

Thank you Peter.

It's hard to work out if the N in the maker's mark is central or left of centre. If the latter then it could well be N K Kok. The overall width of the surrounding hexagon frame is quite wide for just two letters though the right hand end is obscured probably due to it being struck on a thicker gauge of silver due to the moulded design.

In the meantime I will try and find a stronger lens as 10x magnification obviously isn't quite enough.

Best Regards,

Ian T

[oel]

Ian, I think the maker's could also be HH with dots or little stars for the silver factory of Hooijkaas. For the particulars and dates see:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=28590#p71003

Peter.

[emptguy]

Thank you again Peter.

I don't think the mark contains H H. The first letter has a sloped cross bar which is why I thought it could be either a stylised N or even a stylised H. The two verticals on the letter next to it are closer together which suggests a different letter or pair of letters next to each other. The HH marks on the link you gave me look much more standard capitals. An interesting thought though.

Best Regards,

Ian T