Help with silverplate?

Hi

I'm new here, and also new to antiques and vintage! Thanks to my new job I have started an interest in such things and have recently collected a few items to begin my collection. One of which is a silver plated teaspoon. I find silver plate patent marks very interesting and I love deciphering them. I have done one once successfully as part of my job and thought this one would be just as straight forward. But I am very wrong! I have been using this site > http://www.silvercollection.it/dictionarylozengemark.html

All I can work out is January 4th, but can't tell what year.

I've put an image here for you that I took on my phone. I hope you can see it ok, I had to resize it to fit in.

And any tips for a newbie to the hobby?

 

Are you in the US or UK?

The spoon has both a US hallmark and an English Registration mark.
We'll need a more close up picture of both marks in order to help.

If you are picking up American Silver, I highly recommend Rainwater's book on American Silver marks.
In the meantime many of us here use a this site
http://www.925-1000.com/americansilver__Icon.html

Welcome to our forum.
You'll find us friendly and helpful.


Edited to correct my faux pas - Thanks Bakers

 

Welcome, Jon!

As you have no doubt noted, what appears on your spoon to be the letter G in the segment of the Registry Mark for the year (using the 1868-1883 Legend) does not appear in any table for deciphering the marks that I have looked at. This leads me to think that the letter is not a G at all, but rather something else that has been squashed or otherwise defaced. Figuring out what was originally intended is going to require a much closer look at the mark than you have been able to achieve in the picture you attached.

Does your camera have a "macro" function (usually designated with a tulip flower) or can you take the picture through the lens of a magnifying glass?

I think what Clutteredcloset has said about "US hallmarks" may be a bit misleading. The US has no "hallmarking system." However, the A1 which appears on the handle was in common usage on silverplated items in the US back when your spoon was designed to indicate that the thickness of the plating was "standard." Not that any one or any organization actually performed tests to prove it and no real standard was established under any government or "guild. I believe that this A1 may have also been used by silver plate manufacturers in the UK, although it may not have been as common as it was here.

 

Has no American marks, maker was Daniel & Arter, the 'A1' not particularly uncommon...

http://www.silvercollection.it/ENGLADANIEL&ARTER.html

http://www.silvercollection.it/dictionarysilverplatesymbols.html

~Cheryl

 

Hi guys! Sorry it took so long to reply, have been so busy! I'm happy to see my spoon is superior quality

I am from the UK, btw.

I tried to get a photo on the camera but the battery died and i cant find it's charger, so i've tried to take some closer clearer pics on my phone. Are these any better?

It is the letters and numbers I am confused about. There seems to be numbers where there are letters and vice versa... am i looking at it wrong?

 

Hello again, Jon. Those pictures are much better but I am (as I imagine you are) still in the dark about what that letter on the right point is supposed to be. Looks to me like a mistake - as if the person who created the mold incised the letter 4 and then tried to correct it to the appropriate letter.

You should be looking at the legend for the 1868-1883 format.

Since you know the date and the range of years during which this format was used, you *could* look through the design registration records for each year using the January 4th date and the Daniel & Arter maker name?

 

I did think that could be the reason why. Thanks. I guess my closest bet on this is going to be late 19th century! It looks to be the closest I'm going to get!

Thank you for all your help

I'm thinking if I can collect a few more Daniel & Arter cutlery I could put together a bulk listing on ebay