Marker Mark on Decorative Silver Spoons

[silverdollarbill]

I acquired a lot of decorative silver spoons. About half I have been able to identify the marks (most are from late 1800s & early 1900s), but about half of them have a ton of marks that I've never seen.

Let me know if you recognize any of the marks. Here are three of the spoons:

1st spoon - There are English marks (LL, Sterling Lion, London Mark, F import mark, & 1891 date mark) on the side of the one below, but what are the other marks.

2nd Spoon:

3rd Spoon:

 

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[Red-Coat]

Nice spoons.

Your reading of the hallmark on the first spoon as London assayed sterling silver for 1891 with the ‘F’ indicating it to be a “foreign” import is correct. Imported silver could not be sold as “silver” in Britain – even if it already had hallmarks from it’s originating country - unless it was re-assayed in a British assay office. The ‘LL’ mark is for Lewis Lewis, registered in London in December 1887.

Although these kinds of initials are often referred to as “maker marks”, the proper term is that they are “sponsor marks” and indicate the person who is accepting responsibility for the piece but may or may not be the actual maker. In this case Lewis is acting as the sponsor despite not being the maker.

Lewis Lewis was originally established in Brighton by Hyman Lewis and Benjamin Lewis as “Lewis & Son”. From 1887 the business was being managed by Barrow Lewis, Lewis Lewis and Herbert Hyman Lewis until the death of Lewis Lewis in 1908. They were listed as importers of bowls, boxes, buttons, jugs, ladles, scent bottles, spoons, toys, and vases.

The other marks on that spoon will relate to who actually made the piece and/or the country where it was made. A number of people have been trying to chase down the ‘crab’ mark but without success. France used a crab hallmark for small silver pieces from 1838 onwards but there are a number of reasons why that couldn’t be a French assay mark.

Another apostle spoon imported by Lewis with identical markings to yours (described by the owner as a ‘crab’ and possibly a ‘bunch of flowers’ with the initials ‘MC’) was queried on the ASCAS website but didn’t get any reply.

My personal gut-feel is that these are not national hallmarks as such from the country of production, but obscure ‘provincial marks’, regional workshop marks, or pseudo-hallmarks relating to towns or cities in the ‘Low Countries’ (ie probably Belgium or the Netherlands). The maker ‘MC’ may be equally obscure. Here’s another apostle spoon imported by Lewis, where the crab mark is accompanied by a crowned something-or-other rampant in a shield (but no maker initials). It has some crude similarity to the crowned lion used on the arms of both Belgium and the Netherlands:

I don’t recognise the marks on the other spoons, but suspect that they are of a similar nature… ie obscure provincial marks from continental Europe.

 

[silverdollarbill]

Thanks Redcoat! Very helpful! I was going crazy looking for those marks. Good to know they are obscure.

 

[silverdollarbill]

What about this one. It kinds of looks like a worn down "London Crowned Leopards Head" but I don't think it's a match. Also, its the only mark and I dont think the spoon is that old.

 

[silverdollarbill]

Found these with the same marks....but still unknow. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125161794326?hash=item1d24396b16:g:IJQAAOSwM65gEHOT

 

[Red-Coat]

Found these with the same marks....but still unknow. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125161794326?hash=item1d24396b16:g:IJQAAOSwM65gEHOT

Yes, the same marks but that Fleabay seller has it wrong. Without the accompanying import marks for Lewis (which I don’t see) there’s nothing about those spoons which designates them as ‘English’. Even with the Lewis import mark, the spoons would be from elsewhere and those are not ‘Sterling Hallmarks’ from any of our assay offices. I’m sure they’re continental marks. The spoons may well be to a Sterling standard (or better), but the marks don’t relate to any national marking system that I’m aware of.

I’m now leaning towards them being continental ‘imitation’ marks borrowing symbols from various places. ‘Pseudo-hallmarks’ if you will, but not the usual array of marks intended to pass at first glance as British sterling assay. More a kind of homage to older marks as marketing ‘puffery’ to give the impression the spoons are ‘old’ rather than a true attempt to deceive.

The (not very convincing for the other spoon you have) crowned Leopard’s head used in isolation like that is commonly seen on the bowls of old English apostle spoons, with the other elements of the hallmark set on the back of the handle. Here it is on a 17th Century spoon:



[Some information to correct the common misconceptions about the crowned leopard’s head. In early times it was not specifically a London mark, but a fineness mark used by all English towns and cities that produced silver (or gold) since the statute of 1300. Not just those in London. The ‘competence’ of many of those early offices was such that the application of the Leopard’s head itself was often delegated to London, which is one of the reasons why it may be isolated from the other marks. It wasn’t until 1856, when the statutes of 1300 and 1363 and an ordinance of 1379 were repealed that the mark could be used for any other purpose than as a fineness mark (eg as a city mark).

By the 18th Century, the London Assay Office was applying it more rigorously than other towns and cities, leading to the false belief that that it served a dual purpose of being both a London mark and a fineness mark. London didn’t have a distinguishing mark of its own at the time and the same mark was used by Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich, York and Newcastle as a fineness mark when those offices were established at the beginning of the 18th century. Chester and Exeter had stopped using it by 1856, Norwich and Bristol had gone into decline, and the last office using it apart from London was the Newcastle office which closed in 1883.]

 

[crashbandicoot]

I don,t know diddly about IDing spoons but I know those are all cool spoons!

 

[silverdollarbill]

Hey Redcoat....thanks for the help with the fake Leopards Head mark...I didnt know these were faked, but makes sense.

 

[Red-Coat]

Some more information on your spoons, which I'm now sure have Dutch pseudo and fantasy hallmarks.

Following the “Great Exhibition” of London in 1851, at which manufacturers showcased their wares, there was a surge in popularity of ‘modern’ continental silver produced to traditional designs. This, in turn, led to a resurgence of interest in the old pieces on which the designs were based. Prices rose, and it became increasingly difficult to find the original pieces.

To meet that demand, from around 1860, pseudo marks popped up in The Netherlands provinces North & South Holland, Friesland & Groningen. British importers knew that, although the pieces were silver, they weren’t old and sold them as ‘cabinet curios’. Some importers, such as Lewis had them properly hallmarked in Britain so they could actually sell them as “silver”.

There was an additional commercial advantage in importing such pieces as if they were old, since our import regulations levied a lower duty (tax) on antique silver than on modern silver. The same was true for US import regulations. The silversmiths of Schoonhoven (the traditional exporter of mostly small silver items to the UK and US) used pseudo marks purely for tax evasion reasons. Others used them for competitive reasons and to satisfy collector demand.

One of the biggest producers, especially for small silver collectibles such as apostle spoons, was Rinze Jans Spaanstra registered in the cities of Drachten, Wommels, Berlicum (Frisian) and Nijehaske from around 1843 until 1896. In addition to his own ‘RS’ mark he used a variety of fictitious/fantasy maker marks such as ‘VB’, ‘MG’ and ‘MC’ plus a whole range of pictorial marks such as fern leaves, a crab and a single-headed eagle pseudo city mark for the city of Deventer. Some pieces also have an export ‘key’ mark to indicate 2/3 duty restitution (valid from 1853 onwards).

Here's a selection of marks Spaanstra is known to have used, and these are the same marks as seen on some of your pieces:



[Thanks to 'oel' on the 925-1000 silver forum for this information and pictures]

 

[silverdollarbill]

wow....amazing! Thanks for all the info!