HI I have a Whiting ladle that is marked with the standard W/lion but then comes what looks like a letter D then stirling pat 1893. can anyone tell me what this D signifies? i’m sure it’s not a date mark because i think they did’nt start date marks untill1905.
look at the attatched photo and see what ya think.
thanks alot 
Hi there Jordsy and thanks for joining us. Whiting’s date marks - used from 1905 until 1924 when it was bought out by Gorham - were geometric figures, not letters. And some very off-the-wall geometric figures they were. I can’t match any of them up to the figure you show in your photo (and by the way, your photo is outstanding, please take note, readers). Please take a look at the Whiting date marks on www.925-1000.com and see if you can match it. The patent date on your piece would be the earliest date that it would have been made (there are a few expections to this general rule) and all subsequent production years of that pattern would carry the same 1893 patent date. The only Whiting 1893 patent date pattern I see in my American flatware reference by Phil Dreis is “Imperial Queen”. If the mark you show is not one of the date marks, it could be a weight mark as many American flatware makers produced their goods in several different weights from “T” for Trade or light, to “H” for Heavy, etc. I do not see such a marking system for Whiting however.
My last “toss-it-out guess” is that the mark is the “r” in a circle for Registered Trade Mark referring to the W/lion.
Regards,
Uncle Vic
Hi uncle Vic thanks for the welcome and the advice. it is indeed an imperial queen piece.
Thanks again for the help, I really have a very limited knowledge of american silver marks so it’s great to learn something new.