Maiden head spoon marks

So I have received the maiden head spoon mentioned in another post. The lady hand delivered it after she agreed to ship it. A nice touch. Her reasoning was she wanted to make sure it got to me in time for Christmas so I could gift it. To her I guess it was obvious it was a gift. She mentioned previously that she hoped the recipient would like it. I guess she didn’t think I seemed like the type to collect/deal in silver.

Anyways I had hoped that much would be revealed by the second mark near the 84 mark once I had it hand. Alas nothing was for me. I see no detail that tells me anything. Does anyone see something here I’m missing? I cleaned them out with a qtip, then a toothpick, then a plastic toothpick, then finally a needle tip.

After searching the piece fruitlessly for a while for another hidden mark I gave up. Just as I left the room with it the change in lighting made a little tiny circular indentation towards the top reveal itself. After wiping away some old polish an even tinier indentation to the right of the first became visible. It looks like the tiniest punch mark I have ever seen. However I’m wondering if it might just be an anomaly left by the mold? Given they are so tiny and in a recess I can’t make anything out of them under a loupe. When you zoom in on the photo it almost looks like there’s something there in the larger one but nothing definitive. I’m pretty nervous that the 84 is a French Silverplate mark. I paid quite a bit for this piece. I did know it was possible it was a French Silverplate mark when I bought it. I think even if it is I’ll be ok investment wise but still, I was definitely hoping it wasn’t.

I don’t see any other examples of French Silverplate maiden head spoons in quick searches. So if that’s what it is then it’s still a rarity. I guess if you’re going to have something plated, French is definitely the way to go. Now that I have better photos of the maidens head in question maybe it will give a clue as to origin? Maybe someone will see something in the marks I’m not?

As always, any help is appreciated.

 

She is beautiful, J.
Although the headscarf is worn that way in several European regions, it is one of the symbols of Poland.
With the 84 mark, I wonder if she could have been made in Poland during the partition of Poland, when part of the country was under Russian rule. The Polish Partition began in the late 18th century and lasted until the end of WW I.

It is a gift, a gift to yourself.