Unknown mark on German teespoon

[Georg]

Hello everybody,

I have got German teaspoons (see photo and another with marks).





From the left and right marks I gather that they were made by a Herman Julius Wilm in Berlin(?), and it is 750/1000 silver.
Since there are no crown/crescent marks, they were most probably produced before 1886/1888. What I do not know is the middle mark.
Is it a date letter? Or another mark of the maker? Or town mark?
I have also a more general question, as the old German silver proof is usually given in loth (750 = 12 loth). When did they start to use thousands measure?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Georg

[Bahner]

Hello, the meaning of the middle mark is unclear. It appears on various Berlin pieces from (very) roughly the 1850ies onwards. Some believe it to be a Gothic W for Wilm as maker, others believe it to be a Gothic M for the actual maker, Wilm just being the retailer. I tend to the former interpretation and believe this to be a Wilm mark, but this is just a gut feeling. The metric system for silver fineness was introduced in Berlin according to Scheffler on July 5th 1858. So this spoon can be dated to some time after that but before 1888. Regards, Bahner

[Georg]

Hello again,

Thank you for the answer. It was helpful indeed. So the spoons were made roughly between 1858/9 and 1886/8.

Kind regards, and thank you again,

Georg