www.925-1000.com

Hello,

I'm hoping to get some help identifying the marks on this spoon. I picked it up 6 months ago, appears to be solid silver. Interesting piece but I don't have any info on it. Thanks for your help.

I forgot to mention that one of the marks looks like Liegnitz City Mark. What did not make since to me is the cow or ram mark. Also, if you look at the handle there is an odd deity holding up the building...Poland just seems not right. There is another odd marking that I cant make out.

Hi,

The building to me looks like a windmill witout blades.
The first mark: malformed N within a shield. Hanau, B. Neresheimer & Sohne :crossed keys see[S490]
http://www.925-1000.com/Fgerman_hanau_marks_01.html

Oel.

Thanks...Yes I had looked at the Hanau marks and saw the S490 reference. I had also read the some of the older threads regarding the crossed keys. I also see windmill without blades.

As far as the N in the shield...to me it clearly looks like a rams head. The mark is upside down in the photos. I don't see a rams head in any of the attributed Hanau marks. The third mark which is in a different spot, not next to the two marks in the photo, looks like the mark for Storck and Sinsheimer (see top row of marks, right hand side, top mark- almost looks like XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX).

The zigzag line is part of the assay process, made when a sample of silver is removed for testing. It's known as "Tremulierstich" or "Tremolierstich" in German. Sometimes the zigzag lines are applied to give an item ‘the authentic antique look’ in combination with other pseudo marks.


Oel.