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Can anyone help me with a translation from Olde English Indecipherable to normal capitals please ? Found on a plain stock buckle (notoriously difficult to date but my guess is around 1760). No assay marks but almost certainly English. Of the style made by CA, IA and IS but I cannot make any of those letters fit !

I’m not even sure which way up it's supposed to be, so I’ve given it both ways. My wife reckons it might even be mirror reversed — but she is used to dealing with crazy things.



I want to add it to the 925 Lost London Marks forum at http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=59" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but without being able to give the actual mark intials this is impossible .

All suggestions welcome

I would imagine that some English silversmiths would have avoided the cost of commissioning their maker's mark from die maker by making their own. As this mark only begins to make sense when viewed in its mirror image, I'm wondering if it was self-made and the maker neglected to reverse the letters on the stamp? I've seen plenty of reversed letters in American coin silver marks, and even the later firm of George Shiebler had its "Winged S" mark with a backwards S for a time in the 1890's.

Many thanks . That certainly makes sense. Bucklemakers had the tools and technology for making dies - often coin counterfeiters claimed their equipment was for bucklemaking. Also I think a few genuine silver bucklemakers made their own assay punches !

But what are the letters. Even seing them the right way I still cannot translate into Roman !

The first letter could be an N but the second ?

Clive

A further examination of Grimwade, looking at all the gothic type faced marks for a crib on the letters suggests that the first letter might also be an H.
I do not yet know who he is - but squinting at the tiny letters in Grimwade - he's given me a headache ! Headache Henry ?

Old London date letter charts provide a nice crib sheet for gothic fonts and they'll save much wear and tear on the eyes!
This font seems an exceedingly simplified version, so I'd go with the most obvious, perhaps RW - or would that be WR since he had it backwards? or do I have it backwards?

Tom

Many Thanks
We went through the date letter codes in Jackson, plus the wonderful alphabets given with the British National Archives site with their palaeography tutorial at ttp://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/palaeography/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
with various results . Jury still scratching their heads !