We have a dozen of these forks. The Monogram on the back reads SSR which we THINK means these were turn-of-the-century pieces – one of the Esses standing for Shriver (as in the Shriver/Kennedy clan) one branch of which married into my Mother’s family, Reifsnider, way back when. Anyway, thats 100% immaterial because there’s no way of confirming our assumption.
I’ve not heard of Canefield sterling. I think the design is striking, and wonder if the have any value at all. All we have are forks; nothing else.
They were made by Canfield, Brother & Company (Ira B. Canfield, his brother William, and J.H. Meredith) in Baltimore, MD circa 1850-1881. Very fine stuff you have there, I’ll do some looking at values, but the old ornate Baltimore sterling is hot as a firecracker right now.
I see plain fiddleback Canfield folks selling for $20 on ebay and a serving peice offered at $735, so a wide range. Yours seem nicer than the plain ones, so I’d venture a guess that as a set the dozen should fetch $350-450.
