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I am trying to identify the country of origin and makers mark for a set of Apostle Spoons. There are of course 12 of them ( no master). They are 4 3/8 inches and heavy at appox. 20 grams and are gilt. The date mark appears tp be Sweedish for 1771 which corresponds well to their box which has a 1772 date stamped in the leather. The makers mark is quite small and was extremely difficult to get a close up that is clear enough to show all the detail but I will describe it to the best of my ability. It actually appears at first sight to be the Austrian import mark of an A with an included I at the end but close inspection with a loop that does not seem to be right. To the upper left of the A is an extremely small B. Thanks for your help. Roger

Thank you, without other marks than the capital "N" supposed to be the Swedish year letter 1771, I dare to say that the spoons are not from Sweden. This conclusion based upon the Swedish hallmarking traditions and that this type of spoons was not used in that period.

- Since 1759 a year letter series for the whole company was introduced (A=1759, A2=1783...).

- Three crowns hallmark in a heart-shaped shield (called the cats paw) is the state control mark from 1754. The three crowns are from the National Arms of Sweden. Previously the control was done by the goldsmith guilds and they used;

- a town mark often with the town´s coat of arms, or a part of it. The initial letter of the town´s name substituted most of the pictorial ones about 1860.

- Makers´ mark (often with the initials).

My wild guess is that the spoons are made by Ludwig Neresheimer & Co. of Hanau, Germany at least one hundred years later. Let us hear other comments!

To much work or... whole company
-Since 1759 a year letter series for the whole country was introduced (A=1759, A2=1783...).

Hello.

The top mark might be an Austrian import mark, check here:
http://www.925-1000.com/Faustria_02.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Pat.

As I mentioned in my first post, I had considered the Austria import mark as being possible but the mark is so small I could not photograph it well so I will attach a drawing. The Austria mark I have always seen with a little tilt to the I and not having other letters with it. What do others think?

Hi,

Agree with Pat, the 'B' is representitive of the Austrian city of Linz.

Trev.

My wild guess is that the spoons are made by Ludwig Neresheimer & Co. of Hanau, Germany at least one hundred years later.

Certainly it is a Hanau piece and I believe Jackjo is most probably correct about the maker. The piece is comparable to other spoons that came from the Neresheimer factory and that certainly looks to be their "N" mark.

Regards, Tom

Thank you, that does make good sense. I was definitely confused partly because of the cases that they were stored in. I know that Hanau factories were quite prolific at making copies of earlier pieces, I wonder if that includes the cases in this "case" I will attach a picture and you will see what I mean. Where can I find the Neresheimer N mark at online? Again , thank you all so much for help. For my first experience it was quite gratifying.

Hi,
Think the box was created from an old book binding. This is not an exact match, but close enough.
http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/s ... 6cz9ugwjz8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards, Tom