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Hi: I have this old silver spoon manufactured in London (it has the crowned leopard and the rampant lion) with a gothic looking year letter of ''S''...possibly 1773 or 1873? There is also an odd, deep impression after the lion that looks like a vase or something..not sure what it is. Any help with the strange mark, maker or year appreciated!

Thank you!

C.

Back of spoon: http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/origi ... 7c03ae.jpg
Front of spoon: http://media-cache-cd0.pinimg.com/origi ... 007eaf.jpg

Magnified hallmark 1: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/origi ... 43dbd8.jpg

Magnified hallmark 2: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/origi ... 2b7600.jpg

Hi Jerraluv,

Definitely appears to be S for 1773. Can't get over how the marks appear so squashed, would love to know why they appear that way. Do try to get more light into the crack of the makers mark, need to see if we can pick up more details if possible. Can see what appears to be the end of a letter sweeping to the right.

Good luck
Warren

The lion (leopard) had lost his crown by 1883, so has to be 1773. As Warren says, the closed up mark nearest the bowl will be the maker's mark. The maker's and assay office marks were applied before the spoon was finished. Subsequent final shaping of the spoon could close the marks up, particularly if they had been struck hard enough to distort the stem a bit.

Thank you Agphile,

That makes all kinds of sense. There's another post I just commented on that has the exact same problem. Just hope he can get more details out of it.

Warren

Thank you everyone for your replies! I tried getting more light into the crevice of the maker's mark, but no luck, it is too deep and squished. The elongation of the marks from the finishing of the spoon make sense, especially if there was some ''pulling'' of the handle in the final shaping after the marks were applied. Would that be part of the spoon making process? I'm really amazed the spoon is as old as 1773, a pleasant surprise. Too bad I only have one of these spoons - a set would probably be worth something! I also find it interesting that on this spoon and a fork that I have, the monogram is on the back of the handle instead of on the front. Was that done merely to keep folks from stealing them rather than decorative purposes?

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

The engraving is positioned where one would expect. The pattern is Hanovarian, and was designed to be placed bowl facing down on the table (preventing crumbs etc. from collecting in the bowl).

Trev.

Thanks for the info on the table setting. I had to go check and see how it was done and found this example (I know, the silver doesn't match..but it is interesting anyway!) I love this site, I just spent a day going through old silver pieces and found quite a few old solid silver pieces. I now know their dates and makers etc. because of the info on this site. It's like a puzzle crossed with a treasure hunt!