Featured spoons, spoons and more spoons

G Waterman was probably a retailer..
George Waterman


Albany, NY 1848-1871
Jeweler.

 

Here is the millford pic, best I could do Bakersgma

 

Mulford, not Millford.

 

Don't know why this was not the attachment

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/genealogy/makers/silversmiths/141819.htm

 

thanks for the info, that clears up that mark. Boyd & mulford 1832 - 1842. Looks like most of the spoons date from pre 1850's.

 

I can't help out with any of the ID's but I do know one thing for sure though. You stand to make a killing on your $5.00 investment!!!

 

Ding! Dingding! I think you made out OK on that $5 in silver weight alone.

 

Yes, most coin silver spoons are pre Civil War. I'm told that if any of the makers are from the South, they're more valuable.

 

Bit tired, so please bear with me if I'm unclear. In checking the pseudo-marks in McGrew's 'Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver' (2004), the 'Cannoll' spoon was likely manufactured by Syracuse maker Norton, Seymour & Co. the rather precise star is a journeyman mark (sometimes without the firm marks) found on their production as well as successor Joseph Seymour & Co.

The 'Boyd & Mulford' spoon, with the 6-point star/bust/anchor pseudo-mark was produced by a member of the New York City based J.W. Forbes family or a successor (McGrew calls it the 'Forbes Complex).

The D/eagle/bust pseudo-marks on the 'Waterman' spoon is attributed to Albany maker Hall & Hewson.

The anchor/star/bust/D pseudo-marks on the 'Hoyt' spoon is unidentified but attributed to an Albany manufacturer.

The 6-point star/S/eagle pseudo-marks, with tri-lobe journeyman mark, belonged to Syracuse manufacturer Joseph Seymour & Co.

Should mention the 'D's (for 'Dollar') in the marks would indicate that the quality was equal to U.S. coins (about .892 1792-1837, .900 after 1837), 'Premium' and other stamps like 'Coin', 'Pure Coin', 'Standard', etc. indicating the same. American coin silver varied widely in actual silver fineness, documented XRF testing showing a range around .750 to .950, the Stamping Act of 1906 required silver be a minimum of .900 if stamped as 'Coin'.

The tiny asterisks on the 'Fowle & Kirkland' spoon are almost certainly journeyman marks, and it's so weird that the 'J.T. RICE' mark appears to read 'J.J. RICE'...

~Cheryl

 

750...those charlatins !

 

Heh, not really, Komo. "American coin silver" wasn't really a term used until makers started stamping 'Coin' in the early 19th century, and it was common to melt down silver items including coins, flatware, holloware, etc. in order to make new pieces prior to a reliable source of silver in the U.S., so the quality would vary according the the source of the material. I'm on my phone at the moment, but somewhere in my computer files have the copies of the XRF studies done at Winterthur, and later on California silver, and that testing did include 'Sterling' pieces that tested well below .925, which at the point they were made was, ummm, problematic...

~Cheryl

 

Great info Cheryl and thanks for the research, regardless of the fineness of the silver one has to wonder how these survived the melting pots of the past and what a story they could tell.

 

I never knew the D was for dollar!! That’s so interesting. I knew it indicated a likely NY origin but not the dollar part. Very cool.

 

Other countries did the same then and later. They used what came handy.

 

Still have not been able to find anything about J.J. Rice only thing that comes up is J.T. Rice as dragonflywink aka cheryl has indicated. It is definitely J.J Rice though.

 

I found it frustrating as well, the mark is so similar to the 'J.T. Rice' punch that a relation seems likely...

~Cheryl