K1DDO1979
Silver Member
Im very happy with my first hunt of 2018. We had a January thaw and the ground was soft enough to dig in most spots close to the ocean. My buddy dug a george iii british half penny and a nice british navy commander anchor button before i got there. It was a spot we hit before and found loads of late 1700’s to early 1800’s large coppers. Hits were very few and far between but then i dug a very worn and black silver vicky dime. Maybe if I’m lucky ill get a date later. After that i eyeballed a nice old marble at low tide. The find of the day and year so far is my second Georgian era british sterling silver spoon. Its super tarnished black but thats fine with me. When i first dug it i thought it was a copper spoon until i seen the lion and knew what i had. I did a quick look and found the small h date letter matched london 1783 and also had this info on sterling teaspoon...
“Teaspoons (as are all small spoons and tongs) hallmarked by the London assay office are not full marked until 1821. The main reason for this was the lack of space on the spoon stem or terminal. The methods of marking were as follows:-
Pre 1781 - Bottom-marked with only 2 hallmarks (lion passant & Maker). Their date of manufacture can be estimated by their style and where possible from the working period of the silversmith. Early 18th Century teaspoons may only be marked with a maker's mark or sometimes none at all.
1781 - 1784 Three top-marked stamps; lion passant, maker and date letter (i.e. no leopards head crowned)
1784 - 1820 Four top-marked stamps; lion passant, maker, date letter and* duty mark (i.e. still no leopards head crowned).
1821 onwards A complete set of hallmarks in line with other silver articles.”
Im not sure who the maker is yet but I’m sure i will find out. Thanks for looking! [emoji2][emoji106]
“Teaspoons (as are all small spoons and tongs) hallmarked by the London assay office are not full marked until 1821. The main reason for this was the lack of space on the spoon stem or terminal. The methods of marking were as follows:-
Pre 1781 - Bottom-marked with only 2 hallmarks (lion passant & Maker). Their date of manufacture can be estimated by their style and where possible from the working period of the silversmith. Early 18th Century teaspoons may only be marked with a maker's mark or sometimes none at all.
1781 - 1784 Three top-marked stamps; lion passant, maker and date letter (i.e. no leopards head crowned)
1784 - 1820 Four top-marked stamps; lion passant, maker, date letter and* duty mark (i.e. still no leopards head crowned).
1821 onwards A complete set of hallmarks in line with other silver articles.”
Im not sure who the maker is yet but I’m sure i will find out. Thanks for looking! [emoji2][emoji106]
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