JB mark on 1804-1805 William Sumner silver salt spoon

Sebastian · Post by **Sebastian** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 9:51 am

This William Sumner salt spoon was assayed in London in 1804-1805. JB has also been punched onto the handle near the hallmarks. If this is a journeyman's tally mark, then it is unusual in that it is so large, and also it is well away from the maker's mark. If it is a second maker's mark (James Beebe?) then it is unusual in that it does not overstamp the first. And an owner's initials were usually not punched but engraved.
So what does the JB mark mean? Please let me know if you have any ideas.

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Post by **dognose** » Wed Jun 23, 2010 4:44 pm

Hi Sebastian,

This appears to me to be a personal inventory mark rather than anything else, probably struck for security and identification purposes only, by a former owner.

Trev.
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Sebastian · Post by **Sebastian** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:13 am

Many thanks. It was the first time I'd seen an owner go to the trouble of punching his initials on a spoon instead of engraving them.
Something else. Do you know if anyone has got around to listing journeymen's tally marks associated with the different maker's marks around 1800? I've got a couple of spoons with worn maker's mark but clear journeymen's mark.
Regards
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Post by **dognose** » Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:33 am

Hi Sebastian,

I've been working on that one for years, and in that time only managed a positive ID on just two marks. Plenty of names, plenty of marks, but tieing the two together is a difficult one.

Here's the work so far: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8565" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Try posting the worn marks, sometimes there's a clue to narrow it down.

Regards Trev.
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