🥇 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.

 

[Ahab8]

These are the pieces that keep me digging holes in the dirt!!!! Important piece from an important person and absolutely beautiful early silver. It's got a beautiful early look to it. I love the look of old silver. I can't begin to congratulate you enough on this find. These are the finds that belong up top. These are also the finds that bring out the best of Tnet and get people to work together and research for complete strangers just because we all love this stuff and we care deeply about helping somebody get an id and learning something ourselves in the process

 

[Patriot Relics]

Incredible piece of early American silver, a find made even more special with the silversmith identified. With finds like this 2017 is shaping up to be an amazing year.

 

[burlbark]

'MURICA! Ok, I had to. Just chiming in to congratulate the finder and all the researchers here. Great read.

Plated.. LOL! (Did we even have the technology to make plated item in 1802?)

Yes they had a process or two. Similar to rolled gold plate and there where experiments with dissolved solutions making there way.

This piece is not an example of them but, I have seen numerous hallmarked silver plated pieces.

 

[NHBandit]

Amazing find, congrats Peaches! Beautiful!

Oh, and someone needs to stop by and have a bite (you know who you are)...
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LOL.. He seems to have left the building

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

The engraving is a work of a master ..... f@ntastic !
Imho the military history of the silversmith is key , big-time provenance to such an interesting dig .

Many More


DaWg

 

[Valley Ranger]

Great save! Congratulations! Nothing like old silver.

 

[Peaches]

Is the finder willing to give us the name of the County it was found in ? It may give clues as to the "H" owners name? Hopkins & Hess come to mind when thinking of Maryland.

It was found in Saint Mary's County and our land records were destroyed in a fire in 1831. I have done tons of research on properties close to me and I struggle to find an H. The surrounding area traces back to Jones, Leigh, Gough, Smith, Lilburn, Thomas, Combs, Brome, Lockerman, to name a few. There a deed reference to a Hager nearby but I have been unable to associate that with anyone and it was in the late 1800s. Thanks again to everyone for your help and insight.

 

[ghp95134]

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

No, the stamp is correct -- BUT placed wrong; it should be viewed rotated 90º to the right. The blazon is:
Quarterly, 1st and 4th, paly of six Or and Sable, a bend counterchanged (for Calvert); 2nd and 3rd, quarterly argent and gules, a cross bottony counterchanged (for Crossland).

Sorry if someone else has pointed this out .... I'm late to the party.


--Guy

 

[pepperj]

Congrats on the great piece of history and making the banner.

Reading all the details the multiple links and the makers mark why would there be any doubt? If looks like a duck and quacks like a duck well it's a bloody duck.

Looking at the holes that secured the plate it's so easy to see that there isn't any bleed through of a base metal. Dug enough silver plated items over the decades and if was plated there would be a base metal bleed through around the holes. Simple as the hole exposes the inner metal and it would rear it's ugly head for sure.

Now some might think this is a mindless dribble but to ones that have dug enough targets get it and can see that this piece screams silver through out it entirety. No need to test, just save it, as it's the best. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[MichiganMan]

I mentioned this in a post on this thread a week ago, but its such a cool piece of history that I wanted to mention it again for the people just seeing this.

When researching Andrew Ellicott Warner, I found some great information on the finagrave site Andrew Ellicott Warner (1786 - 1870) - Find A Grave Memorial

What was most interesting to me was that Andrew and his brother Thomas served as captains in the 39th Regiment of the Maryland Militia during the War of 1812 and fought in the defense of Baltimore in 1814 at North Point and Fort McHenry. The defense of Fort McHenry was the battle that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem "The Star Spangled Banner" after he witnessed the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. The Star Spangled Banner flag is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC in a very cool exhibit (I've seen it a couple times).

Here is the flag in 1873 and if you haven't seen it yet, the size of it is incredible.

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View attachment 1400768

What's amazing to me is that Andrew Warner fought under this very flag and its these bits of history that really get me going in this hobby. This is a well deserved banner for a piece of silver by an early American Silversmith and a man that was present at and participated in some pivotal moments in American history.

It seems that each piece of information posted here is leading in only one direction... and that is to a VERY important early American piece of silver. WoW!

 

[MichiganMan]

LOL.. He seems to have left the building

We have all made stupid statements here on TNet that we regret. But we forgive, forget, and move forward. Plus, this teaches us all to; do more research before posting willy-nilly information; and letting others with more "experiential knowledge" have their say first. I have not even touched a detector since I sold my AT Pro last year. I am chomping at the bit to get back into the hunt before spring. Unfortunately, my health situation comes first. When I get better I will post so much stuff that you guys will.....

 

[Sandytoes]

What a great find. Congratulations on the find and on the banner. This thread fascinated me and I went on to read more about AEM. The Baltimore Museum of Art has some of his work so it may be a good place to take it for more information. Warner did a lot of his work in coin silver. Even his very fancy tea sets were coin silver. So it may be possible it's coin silver. I thought that might be more likely at his young age too. It doesn't probably matter much because the value comes from his name. He was one of the premiere silversmiths of his time. Again, congratulations.

 

[BIGSCOTT]

Great thread, and congratulations
there is a flatware set on ebay by andrew ellicott warner which also has a large H inscribed on the pieces,
One name of a promenant family starting with the letter H is Hearne some settled very early across the patomic
from st mary's city one of the Hearne women had the maiden name of Cuthbert, this was also the Maiden name of
Andrews fathers wife. another promenant H that comes to mind is Hamilton, longshot I know but what if?

 

[terpfan]

Peaches, let me congratulate you again on your historic find. I've been away from TNET for a month on family business and was elated to come back here and learn that your find had received the recognition that it deserves. As was suggested, I'd encourage you to seek additional museum expertise. Like Cru said, with proper documentation it could add to our understanding of history. Did the archeologist you met tell you why he believed the piece was made "about 1816?". The hallmark would suggest a date of 1802. This seems to be an important distinction because if the plate was actually made in 1802, then Warner would only been about 16 years old at the time it was made. Could this be his first documented silver piece in existence? Another concern with the archeologist's simplistic comments was about the Maryland flag. Your silver plate pre-dates the Maryland flag by more than 80 years, so its design could only be connected to the coat of arms of George Calvert (the first Lord Baltimore) and not to the Maryland flag.
Flag History

As a native Marylander (hence the moniker "Terp fan"), I've been super interested in this post. Good luck taking it further.