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Shreve, Crump & Low Freedom Trail Sterling Tankard - genuine? comps?
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<p>[QUOTE="gimbler-dave, post: 289585, member: 313"]The owner of the store here recently purchased two Shreve, Crump & Low limited edition sterling "Freedom Trail" tankards in presentation boxes which were manufactured circa 1975. Normally he would be thrilled with a good find, but there are a few details we are uneasy about and are trying to pin down. The first 5 pictures below show one of the Tankards as we had prepared to list it on eBay. The 6th and 7th picture show some detail on the 2nd tankard discussed below.</p><p><br /></p><p>The owner of the store has dealt with plenty of silver over the years, and after making the purchase, he had a chance to look the pieces over in more detail. A few things bothered him about the pieces. One, he says they "don't sound right" when he taps them with a knuckle. Second, one of the pieces has extensive verdigris along the handle seam. I've shown that in the very last picture which shows the top area of the handle. That is typical, and is also found in patches along the entire seam.</p><p><br /></p><p>Given his concerns, I have looked for comparables on these pieces. According to the booklet that came with them, there were 8 designs with 100 manufactured of each. Despite several attempts using a variety of keywords, I have not located a single comparable. With a population of 800, it would seem there should be some transaction of record over the past 10 to 15 years. Although direct eBay searches only return results for a limited period of sales history, google usually shows older eBay sales (at least the title). As well, sales through the big auction houses is usually available going back many years. Another source, Worthpoint, usually will have a record found via google search, even if the sales price is behind a subscription wall. But so far, I can find no other example of these.</p><p><br /></p><p>My other research tack has been to try to validate the hallmarks. If you look at the first booklet page shown in the pictures, they make a big deal of the hallmark and use of it to validate the silver content. I read it as "... contains approximately eighteen ounces of sterling silver, whose quality is attested to by the "Hallmarks" stamped by the assay office." So the hallmark should be real I believe based on the way it is worded. I previously thought we had 2 different cities on these 2 pieces, but now see that both are Sheffield, one with crown and 1973 date code, the other with rose and 1975 date code. So my remaining hallmark question is - how does one confirm that the maker went through the assay office to guarantee sterling quality? I have not been able to find so far any confirmation of the Shreve maker mark in Sheffield.</p><p><br /></p><p>One other note. The "eighteen" ounces mentioned is not the heavier and more appropriate troy ounce. At best, they are talking about regular ounces. The 1973 date code tankard weights 458 grams (16.1 oz or 14.7 ozt). The 1975 date code tankard weighs 527 grams (18.6 oz or 16.9 ozt). I think their target market was consumers with money to spare, so I can at least understand this. Their typical customer might not be aware of troy ounces.</p><p><br /></p><p>In conclusion, I am: 1) looking for help on a comparable, 2) looking for comments on the verdigris issue on the handle of the 1973 piece, and 3) looking for ways to validate the Sheffield hallmarks on these pieces.</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks all! ... Dave</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]93543[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93544[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93545[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93546[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93551[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93552[/ATTACH] </p><p>[ATTACH=full]93553[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="gimbler-dave, post: 289585, member: 313"]The owner of the store here recently purchased two Shreve, Crump & Low limited edition sterling "Freedom Trail" tankards in presentation boxes which were manufactured circa 1975. Normally he would be thrilled with a good find, but there are a few details we are uneasy about and are trying to pin down. The first 5 pictures below show one of the Tankards as we had prepared to list it on eBay. The 6th and 7th picture show some detail on the 2nd tankard discussed below. The owner of the store has dealt with plenty of silver over the years, and after making the purchase, he had a chance to look the pieces over in more detail. A few things bothered him about the pieces. One, he says they "don't sound right" when he taps them with a knuckle. Second, one of the pieces has extensive verdigris along the handle seam. I've shown that in the very last picture which shows the top area of the handle. That is typical, and is also found in patches along the entire seam. Given his concerns, I have looked for comparables on these pieces. According to the booklet that came with them, there were 8 designs with 100 manufactured of each. Despite several attempts using a variety of keywords, I have not located a single comparable. With a population of 800, it would seem there should be some transaction of record over the past 10 to 15 years. Although direct eBay searches only return results for a limited period of sales history, google usually shows older eBay sales (at least the title). As well, sales through the big auction houses is usually available going back many years. Another source, Worthpoint, usually will have a record found via google search, even if the sales price is behind a subscription wall. But so far, I can find no other example of these. My other research tack has been to try to validate the hallmarks. If you look at the first booklet page shown in the pictures, they make a big deal of the hallmark and use of it to validate the silver content. I read it as "... contains approximately eighteen ounces of sterling silver, whose quality is attested to by the "Hallmarks" stamped by the assay office." So the hallmark should be real I believe based on the way it is worded. I previously thought we had 2 different cities on these 2 pieces, but now see that both are Sheffield, one with crown and 1973 date code, the other with rose and 1975 date code. So my remaining hallmark question is - how does one confirm that the maker went through the assay office to guarantee sterling quality? I have not been able to find so far any confirmation of the Shreve maker mark in Sheffield. One other note. The "eighteen" ounces mentioned is not the heavier and more appropriate troy ounce. At best, they are talking about regular ounces. The 1973 date code tankard weights 458 grams (16.1 oz or 14.7 ozt). The 1975 date code tankard weighs 527 grams (18.6 oz or 16.9 ozt). I think their target market was consumers with money to spare, so I can at least understand this. Their typical customer might not be aware of troy ounces. In conclusion, I am: 1) looking for help on a comparable, 2) looking for comments on the verdigris issue on the handle of the 1973 piece, and 3) looking for ways to validate the Sheffield hallmarks on these pieces. Thanks all! ... Dave [ATTACH=full]93543[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93544[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93545[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93546[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93551[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93552[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]93553[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
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Shreve, Crump & Low Freedom Trail Sterling Tankard - genuine? comps?
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