Spoons allegedly brought back from 1st world war

[populous38]

Hi everyone. I have a set of 12 spoons, which allegedly were brought back from the far east at the end of the 1st world war. Marked Hong Kong and 84 on bowl and handle. Handle appears to be a snake with a a rat on it. Hope the markings don't say something like bought in Hong Kong, 1975. Can anyone identify them.
Cheers.




Gary

[dragonflywink]

Don't see any problem with the suggested dating of the spoons, and you might find the old thread linked below interesting, despite the missing images - your spoons are typical of those discussed, and unless the pics are very deceptive, yours appear to be silverplate worn to brass, which isn't uncommon. So far as I know, there is still no definitive information on their origin, and up until now, personally, had only seen these from Japanese cities, most often Nagasaki - so yours being from Hong Kong is unusual and brings just a bit more information into the mix...

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=35086

~Cheryl

[populous38]

Cheryl, thanks for the information. The colour in the pics was tone, so I dipped them and they came up a nice silver; however, I acid tested them and as you said, silver plate on base metal. Gutted. Your information was excellent and I appreciate your help. Always good to learn something, even if it wasn't quite what you were expecting.
Again, appreciated as always.
Gary