Question about this find

[diveplam]

Hello, colleagues! This spoon is our latest find from our last dive. I believe it is a silver-plated English officer's spoon from the 18th or 19th century. Can anyone help identify it?

 

[Red-Coat]

Hi @diveplam.

Can you just clarify something. Below are crops from your pictures and there appear to be two sets of marks, one of which is less clear than the other, but neither are in sharp focus:

As far as I can tell, both sets are the same, but in slightly different styles as 'JR' followed by '&' and 'S' in gothic letters, and then a crown, and then 'BP' sideways. Those would be the marks for silver plate by John Round & Son of Sheffield between 1874 and 1886. The 'BP' is for 'Britannia Plate', a form of silver electroplate that uses a pewter variant called Britannia metal as the base alloy.

There are many variations, but this would be typical:

There's no way of knowing if it was an officer's spoon... stylistically, it's just a generic fiddleback.

 

[diveplam]

There is only one spoon and one stamp. The focus is clearer in one of the photos.

 

[diveplam]

That’s very interesting. I thought the spoon was from the Crimean War, but it turns out to be from a later period.

 

[diveplam]

Hi @diveplam.

Can you just clarify something. Below are crops from your pictures and there appear to be two sets of marks, one of which is less clear than the other, but neither are in sharp focus:

View attachment 2267742

As far as I can tell, both sets are the same, but in slightly different styles as 'JR' followed by '&' and then a crown, and then 'BP' sideways. Those would be the marks for silver plate by John Round & Son of Sheffield between 1874 and 1886. The 'BP' is for 'Britannia Plate', a form of silver electroplate that uses a pewter variant called Britannia metal as the base alloy.

There are many variations, but this would be typical:

View attachment 2267743

There's no way of knowing if it was an officer's spoon... stylistically, it's just a generic fiddleback.

Thank you for the comprehensive answer.

 

[enrada]

The wealth of knowledge here on Treasurenet is just amazing(Red-Coat)!
I wonder why this spoon is not more corroded? Is this associated with any wreck or country?

 

[diveplam]

The spoon was found in the Black Sea, in Bulgarian waters north of the city of Varna. It definitely comes from a shipwreck that is currently being investigated. Near the spoon, we found a cannonball and numerous nails.
As for the corrosion of the spoon, the waters of the Black Sea have lower salinity, and besides, it was buried in the sand. I have found silver coins in the sea that were in incredible condition.