Backward monarch? British sterling duty mark?

This is a recent purchase and as I cleaned it I was thinking about the Birmingham mark being on the blade and the lack of date mark. Then I started wondering about what I think is a Victoria mark but if so, it's facing the wrong way and with head and shoulders. Or is this something else?

I've found these versions of the duty mark but they don't look right.

 

Victoria could be quite contrary, but this is going a bit too far. I have never seen it either.

 

You know, the last time I had a "funny" British mark it turned out to be Canadian.

 

Where's the maker's mark? Wouldn't it be unusual to have all those control marks, but no maker's mark?

 

There is an engraved P Case next to the impressed marks, who I assume was the owner, but no other marks on the blade or weighted handle. No maker or date marks. It has considerable wear but the impressed marks aren't worn away yet with no evidence of other worn away marks.

 

nice pics !!!

 

Ditto this.

 

Pseudo mark, I'd say.

 

Could that be a weird George IV mark instead of a weird Victoria? Or maybe even William IV?

 

I don't know about a George IV mark but who knows? To me it looks like a reversed Victoria but with more shoulder. I thought maybe a reverse image was used for commemoratives or something. Pseudo something makes sense or perhaps it's a coin silver mark?

 

I am excited to see this post because I have the same knife and it is a mystery. I am wondering if it is American coin silver with pseudo marks, or possibly Chinese? The top of the knife looks like a dragon to me, and at the base I see a frog. Mine is a little more than 7” long and it weighs 1.45 oz.

 

Hello @TRex & welcome to the forum!!

Since this post is more than 5 years old you would likely get a better response by starting an entirely new post for your knife.

If you do make another post make sure you click on the "post full images" option to make it a little easier for the silver gurus to view your photos (which are great BTW) & put a link in this post to the new one. That way you won't have members posting in both spots. Some member won't even click on old post & are hesitant to click on images from unknown posters.

 

I was surprised to see my old post. I never did find out anymore about it.

I did just go measure mine and it's also about 7" so whatever it is, together I guess we have a pair.

 

Hello, I wrote a long response to this last night but it was not posted. ? I think I may have solved our mystery. I searched for “ coin silver knife” on EBay and found a match in pseudo marks. I found two similar knives in a berry pattern. One has just the three
marks, the other has the three marks and the name C Bard & Son. I looked him up and he was a Philadelphia silversmith active in 1825 and 1850. Was there a requirement at some point to stamp or engrave a name in addition to the maker’s marks? I will post a photo of the EBay find.

 

I have read there is a book by McGrew on early American silver marks. Maybe this set is in there.

 

And here was I thinking that perhaps Ol' Vicky was drunk the day they did her portrait for the mark and that, in her state of inebriation, she accidentally faced the wrong direction.

 

Not sure she got drunk, but she did like the waccy baccy at certain times of the month.

 

Welcome, TRexx. The marks are in McGrew, noted with likely connection to prominent New York maker Albert Coles - Conrad Bard & Son (1849 to the early 1860s) were Philadelphia silver manufacturers, but they were also retailers and were almost certainly retailer rather than maker of the eBay knife cited.

From McGrew's 'Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver' (2004), page 69:




~Cheryl