What century is this 3 pronged fork from?

[FISHEYE]

I found this fork at new smyrna beach near where i found my 1600's era deadeye about a month ago.Found this fork near the water.What century is it from?It has the letter B stamped on it and also a shield with what i can see is a anchor in the lower left corner and J in the lower right corner and a T is the upper left.I cant read the upper right yet,i guess i have to clean it more with some dental picks.Also is it spanish,french,dutch,etc?

 

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[karib2517]

http://www.google.com/search?client...+is+the+3+pronged+fork+from&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

 

[Moe (fl)]

Interesting find!

This website may help:

http://www.925-1000.com/index.html

 

[mad4wrecks]

John, that is a very cool find.

Keep researching it...it makes the artifact that much more valuable.

 

[itmaiden]

It looks similar to British Forks from the same period of your deadeye.

http://images.google.com/imgres?
imgurl=http://www.mfordcreech.com/SilverPagesImages/Early_Fork_Series_b.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mfordcreech.com/Early_British_Table_Silver_II.htm&usg=__Ruulcf0_sBISjO6d2hH89g7Suhk=&h=291&w=525&sz=69&hl=en&start=15&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=j4Rs3NA9tRWHcM:&tbnh=73&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3D3%2Btined%2BFork%2B%2522B%2522%2BBritain%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1R2ADSA_enUS333%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1

But do remember there was "trade", and "pirates" so it will not be an accurate identifier of a particular ship. Now there was a time when the British were over Florida. And it could have been a result of Indian trade, or "acquisition". They didn't like the Brits.

itmaiden

I found this fork at new smyrna beach near where i found my 1600's era deadeye about a month ago.Found this fork near the water.What century is it from?It has the letter B stamped on it and also a shield with what i can see is a anchor in the lower left corner and J in the lower right corner and a T is the upper left.I cant read the upper right yet,i guess i have to clean it more with some dental picks.Also is it spanish,french,dutch,etc?

 

[itmaiden]

>Hallmarks are stamped in a row on all sterling: The lion symbolizes British sterling -- and because its appearance has changed through the years, this hallmark alone can help date a piece. Symbols for the city of origin include an anchor for Birmingham and a crown for Sheffield (since 1975, a rose). Another mark is the head of the reigning monarch. A letter stamp provides the date of manufacture: Each year is assigned one letter of the alphabet; a new cycle starts with a different font. Until the 1500s, the symbol for the silversmith was often a plant or an animal suggesting the family name. Today, initials are used.<

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal...a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=print&currentslide=1&page=1

itmaiden

 

[itmaiden]

See London Date Letter Chart to the right of this page:
(Note, it appears there is a separate Date Letter Chart for each maker. In your case, "Birmingham" seems to apply)

http://www.925-1000.com/dlLondon2.html#M

itmaiden

 

[Peerless67]

Birmingham 1850

 

[PyrateJim]

John, what have you found out? Reason I ask is here is mine.

 

[FISHEYE]

Jim,

Looks like your fork and my fork came from the same mold,so i guess they are brothers.I got a email from tnet-member "Sorroque" he said that only priests ate with 3 pronged forks as there were not many for the colony.Not sure about that or not,but i do know the devil has a 3 pronged fork too

 

[Treasure Seeker]

That's a gorgeous fork FishEye... I'd love to whip that out during lunch at work.

 

[ivan salis]

sweet find just saw it -- can not add much --british hallmarks -- clearly-- its in such great shape too--being silver most likely it was one of the officers or a wealthy travelers item

 

[FISHEYE]

I just took 2 pics with my medical camera of the hall marks.Taken handheld,i guess i need to set up a mini tripod for it to make the pics sharper.

 

[texan connection]

I belive ye have the very septor of trident himself!

 

[Lucky Eddie]

Well - stick a fork in me - this thread is done!

Cheers