Coin silver spoon. Crude work, no marks. Old?

Large spoon but it looks very rustic or crude. Old? As in older than the other spoons I've been posting. I think this was with the Russian spoon but I have no proof that they spent their life together. Thank you.

 

hand hammered coin silver.......i'd guess.

 

That is an odd spoon, the stem seems short and thick, and sort of looks like it was unfinished, yet it does show signs of planishing and refinement of the pattern - those folds in the metal should not be present, perhaps it was improperly annealed, but regardless, no self-respecting smith would have marked it. By style, downturned fiddle with round shoulders, probably dates early to mid 19th century - could be American coin, but have doubts, typical bowl would taper at the tip...

~Cheryl

 

There was no hand hammering or planishing,the marks are from the metal cooling too fast when it was poured into probably a "steel" mold.

 

This isn't a cast spoon, those are fold marks from when the spoon was hammered into shape, a good silversmith would not have left them...

~Cheryl

 

I am by no means an expert but I thought all coin silver was made through hand hammering. I also read that even today, sterling flatware is done through a stamping process and then trimmed and polished. It may be true but I've never read that flatware was made from pouring into molds.

 

Here is a link that shows the modern day die stamping process I mentioned above. Before machines, I thought this was done by hand and hammer.

http://www.thestieffcompany.com/The_Stieff_Company/How_Silverware_is_Made_&_More_Factory_Photos.html

 

'Coin silver' is a term used primarily in American silver, but silver of any fineness can be hand-worked, die-stamped, or cast. Cast silver lacks the tensile strength that comes from hammering or pressing, it would be used on more detailed decorative pieces - this spoon is hand hammered.

~Cheryl

 

Before steel stamping dies were common,things were simpler. Google "pewter spoon molds"which were made of brass,iron/steel molds were used for silver which was poured into the mold like ingot molds,bullets,toy soldiers,fishing weights,etc.

 

This is a silver spoon, pewter is a different matter - this spoon is not cast. Here is a thread showing an older spoon, most likely American, also unsigned and showing similar defects - the two main respondents might seem more credible than me, one an expert on American coin, the other also quite knowledgeable and a working silversmith: http://www.smpub.com/ubb/Forum19/HTML/000423.html

~Cheryl

 

It's an interesting read & a good part of American history.......

http://www.basic-antiques.com/silver-spoonmaker.htm