www.925-1000.com

Have spent hours and hours online trying to find the maker of this sterling silver top walking stick. It is mongoramed with a date of 1886 so I know it is 19th century. I cannot make out the maker's mark which may be an animal. It is also marked "50" and "A" and I just can't find any reference to what that means. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Naughty badger,

welcome to the forum.

Please clean the marks,we need a clear image of the marks, try to capture one by using the macro function of a good digital camera.
Good luck,

Oel.

Hi Oel,
Thanks for the response. I have taken so many photos to try and get it as clear as possible. I took this one below with the loupe added to my lense and the macro on. Does this helps. It does appear to be a face in the shield. The "50" "A" is what is really confusing me. I am assuming is is a dating mechanism, but I have no basis for this assumption.

Regards, John

Hi John,

Welcome to the Forum.

That looks like a Simons mark, it may have been double struck.


Simons, Bro. & Co. - Philadelphia - 1874

The numbers and letter likely relate to a batch or pattern number.

Trev.

Hi Trev,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Your eyes must be much better than mine, but I think as you mention, issue may be the double struck hallmark that makes it hard to identify. If I may ask one question, would you think that the item was represented accurately to me as Sterling Silver? It seems from what I looked up about Simons Bros, they also worked with other metals, but I assume unless I get it tested, I would not know for sure (though to the eye it sure seems like silver). Thanks again, I am pretty good with hallmarks but this is one of those that had stumped me.

Regards.