🥇 BANNER Andrew Ellicott Warner escutcheon plate

[Peaches]

Found today at old house site. I have not been able to find markings online. Seems to be silver with AEW, then maybe a mark with a cross in the top left and bottom right corners, what appears to be a G or CR, and the a silhouette.

 

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[terpfan]

I agree that its solid silver. Did they ever put hallmarks on anything silver plated?

 

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[masterjedi]

I agree that its solid silver. Did they ever put hallmarks on anything silver plated?

Yes they did for years.... look at all of the silverware that has hallmarks but is plated and not solid silver....

Take a look...

https://www.google.com/search?q=hal...C#tbm=isch&q=silver+plated+flatware+hallmarks

 

[FoundInNC]

G looks like a British date letter to me.

Could be coin silver with pseudo - British hallmarks. Here is AEW coin silver, could be your maker?
https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=39011

Your item was made by Andrew Ellicott Warner, US Coin Silversmith, Baltimore MD, in about 1802, final answer

 

[terpfan]

FoundinNC nailed it. It appears that this is a terrific historic piece related to Maryland's history. The second hallmark is from the coat of arms of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore. (What do you think Bill D?) The Calvert family coat of arms was later used for the design of the well-known state flag of Maryland. If indeed the OP's piece was manufactured in 1802, it would have been a very early piece by Andrew Ellicott Warner (1786-1870). IMO this looks like a banner- quality find.

Flag History

 

[terpfan]

Note that the quadrants of the hallmark have been reversed from those of the coat of arms:

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice find!

It sure looks like a trunk plate, good luck on the ID.

 

[CRUSADER]

We have a winner, found the AEW match;
Congrats to the 2 above researchers, it is silver & a famous bit at that!
Andrew Ellicott Warner, born 27 Nov 1786, died 1870

 

[CRUSADER]

I've just voted BANNER.

I now think its important to email this series of hallmarks to a leading expert/Museum.
I have a strong feeling that this combination has not been recorded before now!

 

[CRUSADER]

Because we have a date & we know it has been personalised on the front with an old English script letter 'H' we can speculate the following;
It was commissioned for an important family, & the right researcher/expert 'maybe' able to speculate who that was!

 

[Peaches]

This is amazing! Thank you all for the information. It was found in Maryland very close to Calvert history. I was unsure of the script as well. Thanks so much.

 

[terpfan]

Peaches, please don't clean this important find. You may have a museum piece.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Incredible! Excellent group effort by all getting this ID. I'll second Cru's notion and throw down a banner vote on this one.

 

[masterjedi]

Peaches... Super great find... ) It's awesome... !!

Please have it tested to be sure its really silver...

Gary from Oregon...

Lots of guessing and speculation going on here... :/ Lets find the facts...

 

[terpfan]

I keep thinking about the reversal of the four quadrants in the Calvert coat of arms. The striped quadrants represent the Calvert family and the crosses represent the Crossland family (George Calvert's mother's side of the family). Notice that the diagonals of the striped Calvert quandrants are going in the opposite directions as they are in the coat of arms. Why? Maybe this hallmark is actually a mirror image of the Calvert coat of arms. A mirror image of this hallmark looks exactly right. Could it be that a 16 year old apprentice silversmith named Andrew Ellicott Warner actually made a mistake? Did he make the "stamp" looking correct, only to have the imprinted hallmark show the design in reverse? Just a thought.

 

[NHBandit]

I keep thinking about the reversal of the four quadrants in the Calvert coat of arms. The striped quadrants represent the Calvert family and the crosses represent the Crossland family (George Calvert's mother's side of the family). Notice that the diagonals of the striped Calvert quandrants are going in the opposite directions as they are in the coat of arms. Why? Maybe this hallmark is actually a mirror image of the Calvert coat of arms. A mirror image of this hallmark looks exactly right. Could it be that a 16 year old apprentice silversmith named Andrew Ellicott Warner actually made a mistake? Did he make the "stamp" looking correct, only to have the imprinted hallmark show the design in reverse? Just a thought.

If you turn the item 90 degrees the coat of arms is a perfect match.. Just sayin.. I am also voting banner

 

[terpfan]

Good point. If you turn it 90 degrees you do get a match. But weren't the hallmarks meant to be seen from one side, so that the "G" was oriented correctly? It appears to be an error either way. But like Cru noted earlier, the hallmarks are on the back of the plate so they were not going to be viewed on the installed product anyway.

 

[NHBandit]

Good point. If you turn it 90 degrees you do get a match. But weren't the hallmarks meant to be reviewed from one side, so that the "G" was oriented correctly?

Maybe the guy holding the stamp had 1 too many pints that day... lol

 

[CRUSADER]

Good point. If you turn it 90 degrees you do get a match. But weren't the hallmarks meant to be seen from one side, so that the "G" was oriented correctly? It appears to be an error either way. But like Cru noted earlier, the hallmarks are on the back of the plate so they were not going to be viewed on the installed product anyway.

Normally yes, but even the same silversmith would stamp them all different directions. Seen it many times, but I have no reason why. Seen many up-side-down.

To the OP there is no need to test it (Normally a destructive method) or clean it. There is no speculation when IDing silver that came from the ground, trust me I can tell it a million miles away. Silver-smiths did not hallmark silver plate in this manner. It SCREAMS silver to me, I dig a lot of it.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Peaches... Super great find... ) It's awesome... !!

Please have it tested to be sure its really silver...

Gary from Oregon...

Lots of guessing and speculation going on here... :/ Lets find the facts...

I don't think anyone is guessing or speculating. Its been determined its a engraved name plate from a trunk or box, made by the silversmith Andrew Ellicott Warner in Baltimore Maryland in 1802. This was all done through hours of research by multiple people. As Cru said, its a marked piece of early American silver... I don't think the OP is wanting to sell it for scrap to a pawn shop, so I don't see the point in having it tested to verify whats already been found out. Now, if there were no marks on it at all that would be a different story.

 

[UnderMiner]

That's a spectacular and unique find! Congrats on some very early American silver!