Some unusual spoons

Greetings antiquers,
I have an unusually ornate silver spoon I would really appreciate some help in identifying. It appears to be a collector spoon from Atlantic City. It is about 4" long, has a turtle at the top of the handle, with twisted wires coming down to a pair of hooked fish about an inch down. Inside the bowl of the spoon has a sailboat/lighthouse engraving with the words "Atlantic city" below. The back of the handle is stamped "sterling". It has a pretty heavy patina which I am reluctant to clean off due to it possibly effecting the value.
I will upload pictures once I shrink them down to an acceptable upload size. Until then, thanks for any insight you may be able to give!

Todd in Maine

 

Welcome, Todd, and get out the polish. Tarnish on silver is not patina, and your coffee spoon will thank you for making it usable!

But for a 4" demitasse spoon, it does seem rather crowded! It's a wonder they didn't put in the diving horse. (Or, is that Ocean City...)

 

I wonder if it might be like this spoon said to be Baldwin & Miller.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BALDWIN-MI...m=R40&rt=nc&_trksid=m570.l1313&LH_TitleDesc=0

 

Brilliant! Thank you both. I knew this was the right antique site to join.

 

Here is another spoon I found with the first, and it's, well, creepy. At the end of the handle is a sort of winged serpent with a human head. There's an articulated loop underneath it, then the handle twists down to and an almost cherub looking winged bust at the base of the bowl. There are no markings that I could find on it anywhere, although it does appear to have the same level of tarnish (not patina. I'm learning!) as the sterling one above.

 

It's an Italian souvenir spoon, the finial represents a horse tether-ring with a harpy, found at Strozzi Palace in Florence - look for a small '800' indicating fineness, even if unmarked, it may be silver, or it may not be...

~Cheryl

 

The original: https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:3874218

~Cheryl

 

As silverthwaite said above silver is meant to be polished.
It will enhance the value, not de-value the piece.

No proper lady would consider serving her guest with tarnished silver.

Oh and welcome to the board.

 

I am REALLY sick and tired of reading this.

POLISH YOUR SILVER! The longer you don't polish it, the more damage you do it because the tarnish corrodes the silver! Polish it ONCE polish it GOOD and then leave it alone until you need to polish it again. You ever tried polishing off 90 years of tarnish? I have. I can tell you that it takes DAYS to do it. If you want to have to handle that, go ahead, but the damage done from the tarnish will be permanent regardless.

For the love of God, polish your silver!! The value won't be affected one bit! Silver was MEANT to be polished! That's why it's made of silver in the first place! If they didn't want to polish it, they'd make it of iron!

 

PATINA.

The natural colouration of the silver when it was made, or which it acquires over time. This is what the silver looks like. This is what it is. This is how it has aged.

TARNISH

Black, brown or grey oxidation that builds up on top of the silver due to the metal oxidising and corroding due to exposure to harmful elements (usually sulphur or carbon dioxide).

PATINA:

LEAVE IT ALONE. People like to see a bit of age. Not all pieces have patina, some do, some don't.

TARNISH:

REMOVE IT. People don't like to buy tarnished silver. Especially heavily tarnished silver, because heavy layers of tarnish can be VERY difficult to remove. I have had pieces where the tarnish is almost impossible to get off, leaving the piece permanently stained.

 

Polish, but never Tarnex please.

 

What the hell's Tarnex?

 

Silver dip. (shudder)

 

Hi
AMEN to polished silver!!!!!! Tarnish is horrible on silver. I have a set of silver flatware that is so patined that it is almost white. Tiny tiny tiny faint scratches all over the pieces from 175 years of using. Silver is meant to be polished!!!!!! Tarnex is horrible in most cases. I had some sterling from a fire that was so black that nothing cleaned it except Tarnex. REMEBER if you do use Tarnex or any other dip be sure to polish it with silver paste immediately.
greg

 

I agree 100% on the care and polishing of silver. On the other hand, here in Oregon, "shabby and industrial /rusty chic" is the current style. I recently helped a friend liquidate an estate. The dealer who puchased ALL the silver requested that it NOT be polished. Blackened or completely polished away silver plate is what is selling in the current markets here. Sometimes they even suffer the indignity of being painted. If you're planning on selling, it's a curious thing to know.

 

Odd tastes up there in Oregon.
Not sure I'd want that on my table staring at me

 

Good to know !!!
Different markets have different tastes...

 

I really have to ask. Who the hell was it that ever decided that polishing silver devalued it, or whatever claptrap nonsense that was?

Silver is silver. It's never going to be devalued. It's not like if you bring two silver mugs to a melter, one polished, one black as ink, the fellah behind the counter's gonna say: "This one, $200, this one $2.00 because you polished it". Silver is silver and the purity is what counts. Not whether you decided to use Hagerty's on it, or not.

"Oh but if you polish silver you destroy the value!!!!"

SILVER HAS BEEN POLISHED - FOR CENTURIES!! THAT IS WHY IT IS MADE OF SILVER!! SO IT CAN SHINE!! If they didn't want it to shine, they wouldn't bother with the effort!