Silver spoon help

[Spartcom5]

Found this today and thought it was very interesting. Paid $10 for it and I have never seen these marks before anywhere. Can anyone identify them? The piece itself looks very old and made by hand possibly? Any help is appreciated as always. I hope I can find more about it!

 

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[captain flintlock]

That’s a very cool find. I collect early silver. Without it being in front of me it’s hard to tell if it’s original or a nice newer piece. All silver flatware was hand made. Silver does not melt and cast well with smaller pieces such as that. Style wise with the top design and the very large rat tail, it’s from the very early 1700’s. I haven’t found anything on the makers mark but I only looked for a short time. So here’s what I think. Is it a bit flexible or very hard and difficult to bend (just a smidge!) If it’s hard then it may be a plated piece. Do an acid test to see if it’s silver. To me, it looks like silver. If it is, then you may very well have a nice early piece. I would say it’s a foreign item. European or maybe Scandinavian. Could also be Portuguese. It’s possible it could be an unknown domestic smith but highly unlikely. It’s damn cool and I would have gladly paid $10 for it all day!! Well done and keep us posted on the acid test.

 

[tamrock]

It definitely looks like something old, hand-wrought and made of silver. I'm thinking austro-hungarian or some European made peace. I don't know of any knights in shining armor in the history of the Western Hemisphere. Ten bucks well spent imo.

 

[JimDon]

I would classify this as a very close to a17th century William and Mary trefoil spoon. Very nice find indeed

 

[captain flintlock]

I would classify this as a very close to a17th century William and Mary trefoil spoon. Very nice find indeed

I would agree for design and time period but it’s definitely not English due to the lack of other hallmarks. Even during that time they marked everything with multiple marks. Damn cool find and I am a tad bit envious!

 

[Spartcom5]

Thank you guys! It is surely silver and is flexible, will have it electronically tested, the general consensus from the sites I have posted it was that it's from Switzerland. Possibly Zurich around the late 1600s. No idea on the maker and I have had no luck. Maybe it's out there in a book or something? I will be contacting a vendor who specializes in old spoons like these to see what they say. I gotta say I am quite surprised with how old it is and how much they go for! Another thing to note is that my spoon is quite bigger than most I see online..

 

[randazzo1]

Very cool! Maybe you can research that crest? There are a load of heraldry sources on the net.

 

[Spartcom5]

Here is an update from a knowledable person who found all the information in an old book from Switzerland, "Zurich is correct; the maker is Hans Conrad Lavater (1660-1735; master 1684). I would date this spoon around 1700. Nice find! Ref: Eva-Maria Lösel, Zürcher Goldschmiedemunst (Zürich: Berichthaus, 1983), p. 241, maker/marks #337"

 

[HistoryTeacher]

Congratulations on the great find. I'm glad that you were able to get an ID.

 

[ARC]

BANNER find.

 

[tamrock]

Indeed the printed word still holds many secrets not found on the world wide web yet. I was finding a Z mark that was Dutch, but was sure that wasn't it. Now I wonder what that coat of arms is all about? Could it be related to The Swiss guard of the Vatican

 

[tamrock]

BANNER find.

You would think, but not sure they'd allow it? I get the feeling they don't think buying a treasure is the same as finding a treasure.

 

[Spartcom5]

Oh I'd love to know the family crest. I found some services online that have people who will search through numerous books in order to identify a crest. However I'd have to pay for the service because it does take awhile. I tried doing some internet searching and came up with nothing

 

[RustyGold]

Outstanding!

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Very beautiful silver spoon!