How did this spoon end up in a thrift shop in the states?

[shofs]

I found this hefty ladle at the local thrift store. I found it it mixed in with all the other silverware, only cost me $2 . I actually set it aside at first because I've seen similarly designed silver plate pieces a few time before. I'm glad I decided to check the marks real quick before putting it back though! This thing is a huge chunk of silver especially for a utensil; 240g or 8.5oz t.

I bought this spoon was because I saw the "800" mark, but I didn't recognize the other two marks . After some research it turns out that the triangle mark in the middle identifies it as Czechoslovakian between 1929-1942 and the flower mark is the manufacturer Sandrik. Surprisingly the only decoration on the whole thing is a imprint of the Czechoslovakian coat of arms on the end of the handle. I'm not sure what the 4 in a triangle mark is..

I'm certainty not going to scrap it. I think its interesting that it came from a country that was only around for only 74 years and such a big piece of silver is practically undecorated. I'm curious as to how it crossed the ocean to the states and made its way to Colorado in such good shape.

 

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[Lost&Found]

Nice find. To answer your question. At one time in our nations history there was a thing called legal immigration. Many immigrants brought their valuables with them.

 

[vpnavy]

Nice buy. Thanks for sharing...

 

[shofs]

Nice find. To answer your question. At one time in our nations history there was a thing called legal immigration. Many immigrants brought their valuables with them.

Sounds about right

 

[tamrock]

I was told by an old U.S. solider who had a booth at a flea market who had a whole flatware set of .835 German silver for sale, maybe 15+ years ago. When I asked how he came by it? He said he served in WWII after Germany surrendered. One of the mission he had was to go to the homes of the Germans in search of weapons to confiscate. Very often the houses they searched there was no one around and they'd take all the smaller valuables such as jewelry and silver from the kitchen and send it home. That's how he said he came by his set of German silver. He also had other Nazi artifacts for sale in his booth took from those days. So maybe your ladle is spoils of war that a German took from a Czech and then an American took from the German . It could very well have come with the immigrants also. Hard to say for sure the story of how it was you came to find it, but you got it and that's what counts

 

[Tallone]

There was a lot of "spoils of war" activity going on. My father was in a unit tasked with dismantling German weapons production factories. One of the factories they worked on was the Mauser firearms factory. My Dad picked up a Mauser pistol off the assembly line that had been completed but had not yet had the serial number stamped onto it. I thought this might be a rather rare and valuable piece. I sought out a Mauser discussion forum and asked about it. Turns out such items were very common and referred to as "lunch box specials" because the factory workers would often smuggle them out in their lunch boxes!