www.925-1000.com

My neighbor has this thimble and I don't know anything about it other than that it is sterling. Who made it? How old is it? A Thanks in advance for your help with this stumper.
The lower half of outside has a fancy design while the stamp is on the inside top of thimble. The mark is on 3 or four lines which are:
H in incomplete square ~ 9 [size of thimble]
Couple marks, don't know if they represent anything or not
Sterling
Anchor [symbol or pictogram]

Your thimble was made by Stern Bros. Co, New York around 1910.

The SBC logo at the top is a bit worn but should look something like this:



Here's a brief history of the company:

In 1868, the firm of Stern Brothers was established in Philadelphia. Within a few years, the company expanded and relocated to New York City and entered the diamond and jewellery manufacturing business. From 1890, Stern Brothers used a "fouled anchor" (an anchor entwined with a rope) as their thimble trademark. From the period 1908-1912, the company sometimes used an "S" as its trademark with a "B" in the upper curve and a "C" in the lower curve of the "S". From 1913, the company used a squared "G" with an "S" and a "C" inside after August Goldsmith became a partner. The company shut down and ceased operations in 1933 following the stock market crash of 1929.

On dating Stern Brothers thimbles, Gay Ann Rogers in her book, "American Silver Thimbles" (Haggerston Press, London, 1989) states, "The anchor is significant only when it appears alone. This tends to designate thimbles made from the 1890s to the early 1900s. Later the anchor was stamped in addition to the initials of the company, or, after 1908, the company initials alone were sometimes stamped on the thimble. These are not hard and fast rules, however, and exceptions can be found."

Regards/carling

I've been looking for a better image of the SBC logo and this is the best I can do at the moment. This time on the outside of a thimble. It also has the "fouled anchor" mark.

Carling -- Thanks for not only identifying it, but also giving the company history. I know my neighbor will be very pleased with the wonderful information you provided!!! Your photos, especially the second one are outstanding!!! If you don't mind my asking, what make & model digital camera did you use??? Thanks again for your help, forwis

Glad to be of help, forwis. The image of the marks above is just a scan from a book about American thimbles. The photo of the Stern Bros. thimble was taken with my Pentax Optio 33LF which I bought secondhand on eBay for about £20 (around $40).

I am quite happy with it. If I break it I dare say I shall look for another. Maybe the next one will be cheaper still.



Regards/carling