Silver ladle

[DeeInWV]

Hello,
I need help in identifying the maker of this silver ladle. I'm not sure if it is solid silver or silver plated, so I'm posting it here. I could not get a good photo of the mark, but have included it here, nonetheless. I apologize for its exceedingly poor quality. However, it is identical to the mark shown on the top right-hand corner of the homepage of http://www.925-1000.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; with the following exceptions: The numbers read "1854," rather than "1855" and the letter at the top of the mark is a "D" rather than an "A." The center of the mark, the oval divided into three parts, with the number 13 at the top is exactly the same as the image shown on the homepage of this website.

http://i37.tinypic.com/w6uq0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://i35.tinypic.com/5c0qv4.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Admin photo edit - image too large - insert as link or thumbnail only - see Posting Requirements)

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me.

[dognose]

Hi Dee,

Welcome to the Forum.

It's silver.

Check out Austria/Hungary here:
http://www.925-1000.com/foreign_marks.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

D=Brno assay office. (Now in the Czech Republic).

Trev.

[DeeInWV]

A million thanks for your help, Trev. I was so excited when I saw that mark on the 925-1000 homepage! I DID look for it on the site, but I'd been told it was an Italian mark, and didn't look at Austrian or Hungarian marks...

[blakstone]

D=Brno assay office. (Now in the Czech Republic).

This is incorrect, at least for the mark here. "D" was the code for the Brno/Brünn office only after the introduction of the "Dianakopf" mark in 1866, and then only until 1868 (when it was downgraded to branch of the Vienna office and its code changed to "A6".)

In 1854, "D" was the code for Lemberg, the capital of Galicia, known also as Lwów in Poland, L’vov in Russia and L’viv in Ukraine, all of whom have claimed sovereignty over the city in the last 100 years; it is currently part of the independent Ukraine.

Which still doesn’t tell you who made it; the other mark should the maker’s mark. Can you describe it?

[dognose]

Hi Blakstone,

I note the correction, many thanks for that.

Is it possible that you could post a list of the codes for the pre-1866 offices?

Regards Trev.

[DeeInWV]

Thanks for the clarification, Blakstone.

As I said, I can't quite manage a decent photo of the marks, but the maker's mark appears to be "SM" in an oval, although it's possible I'm seeing it upside-down, and it actually reads "WS." (The assay mark is oriented on the ladle in a way that seems upside-down to me, if that makes any sense. If the maker's mark is oriented in the same direction as the assay mark, then it reads "WS." If oriented in the other direction, it reads "SM.")

Thanks again.