True "hallmarks" or intended-to-deceive-marks?

This 8" (23cm) long spoon (sugar sifter spoon?) was in with a bunch of silver plated (mostly) wares. While this does have what resembles a very worn lion passant mark, I am puzzled by both the mark to the left of it and the shape of the shield which surrounds each of the three marks. Are these actual hallmarks or marks with the purpose to deceive?

Also stamped on the back of the spoon is "W.C.&SON TROY" ... cannot find a flatware manufacturer with this stamp - but a few auction sites list this as a retailer - without any verifiable references - of coin silver spoons.

It appears that the WC&SON stamp is stamped over another mark - I didn't notice this until I saw the close-up photo ... may just be a double stamp, but I'm not sure.

 

They do appear to be fake marks. The king's head mark is a real caricature. I would not be surprised to find it was coin sillver. It was not uncommon to overstamp another's marks if you bought a shop's stock or took over a shop. No records of Silversmiths in mid 19th C Troy? Not the real one of course, the one in New York state.

 

I think this might be him? 4th one down... http://sterlingflatwarefashions.com/Ret/RetC1.html

 

Possibly US coin silver. I agree on upstate New York, if it is coin.

 

Thank you, af!
I couldn't find anything relevant, but johnnycb09 might have

the "real" York! Ha ha ... yes, it seems to be the York in upstate NY ... it for certain wasn't from the podunk town of York in upstate PA.

 

Thank you!
Gee - I looked there too ... under "W" DOH!

 

Thanks!

 

I believe W.C. & Son (William Canfield & Son of Troy, NY from Johnny's link) is only the retailer. Those 3 punches (bust, lion, C) on your spoon are not the his pseudo-marks. The 3 punches for Canfield shown on that link are D, Eagle, Bust. John McGrew's Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver, p. 12, give his dates as 1842-1847, trade "j" meaning jewelry, and his mark (punches) D Eagle Bust - just like that link shows.

Right now the only coin silversmith using bust, lion, C I have found is for Cunningham/Cooper. p. 10 of McGrew's book under Bust/Lion/C says:

"Attributed to the Cunningham or Cooper periods of this sequence of manufactureres. Gilbert-Cunningham/Cooper Complex"

Here is a spoon online that they say is of this Cunningham/Cooper retailed by Samuel W. Benedict of NYC. Your spoon is retailed by Canfield of Troy, NY.
http://www.cyberattic.com/stores/everythingsilver/items/679840/NYC-Coin-Silver-Soup-Ladle-Benedict

Here is another one with Bust, Lion, C that the seller says is by Cunningham/Cooper and retailed by Voorhees.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/American-Co...es-New-Brunswick-NJ-bust-lion-C-/150879633763

--- Susan

Edit: BTW this is probably a sugar sifter, but there are a few tea strainer spoons that are similar.

 

BTW, I really don't think the "W.C. & Sons Troy" is stamped over a different mark. I think the W.C. mark was double stamped. If you look at the last letter, the Y of Troy, you can see the remnants of the tops of the Y's arms above it.

--- Susan

 

I find it really sassy.....whatever it's use is !!
Nice find quirky....

 

Thank you, Susan for this additional information. I hadn't actually considered that the three marks could be attributed to any maker without a name attached to them as well. But seeing that it could be done, I searched through my books and was able to find three examples with these marks in Robert Alan Green's Marks of American Silversmiths.

Two of the three with the bust/lion/C also had names as part of the mark ... but neither of the names look as if they are the one that W.C.&Sons is covering. The third is shown without a name, but the book looks to have a typo right on the entry connected to these stamps ... looks like C T and then an m with something ? typed over it.

Belonging to George Waring of Hudson NY circa 1850


Belonging to William Horton - location unknown circa 1850



C T(beats me)s circa 1850 NY



Oh ... I see your other post about it not being a double stamp. You could be right, I thought that too ... sometimes I see what looks like the top portion of an "A" inside of the R in TROY ... but because the "W" at the far left also looks double stamped I might just be seeing things.

 

One thing that Pat (may he rest in peace) and WEV (who maintains a genealogical silver maker's site) have said goes along with the fact that you've found several different makers appearing to use to the same markings. In upstate NY in particular many silversmiths used the same, or very similar, marks back in the "coin era." Who made it seemed not to have been as important as we might think today, I guess. The retailer was more often identified than the smith. I know you'd really like to know who, but there were so many smiths operating in small town shops, it really doesn't matter.