Good day, friends. I’ve got this Hanoverian pattern tablespoon that I suspect to be British and dating somewhere in the 18th century, but other than that, I’m floored by it. Please be so kind and help me out. Kindly see pictures.
The spoon weighs 47 grams, length 26 cm, bowl width 4.1 cm. On the back of the final appear the engraved initials J.C.J.B. (upside down, an orientation I’m not familiar with).
What I see is four strange hallmarks. There seems to be a split running through two of them. The first one (maker’s mark?) looks a bit like PC or PG. The 2nd is in a rectangular shield indented top and bottom, and gives me the idea of a lion looking left at some object on the other side of the indents. The 3rd one, for the life of me, looks like three crosses XXX with some mark just ahead of the first cross. The last one looks like a capital F (date letter?) lying on its back. My searches to date have NOT been successful. Can anyone please assist?
Regards
Jan
Have a look at Dutch hallmarking. I think that F is the date letter for 1840 but you will probably have a clearer view for comparison. Both 925-1000.com and silvercollection.it have sections for the Netherlands.
Phil
Phil, you have once more proved your mettle (which I have never ever doubted)! Many thanks. Yes, the spoon is indeed Dutch, and I also believe the F indicates 1840. I have learned (though I have not viewed 925-1000.com because of an access problem, that the three crosses next to a crown is the town coat of arms for Amsterdam. The first mark on my spoon (above, as also found on different but comparable Dutch spoons of the period) is traditionally the maker’s mark, (but this one I could not identify although I viewed many marks), the second is the rampant lion with crown indicating some silver standard (I know not what, yet, because that split has messed things up), the third the town mark, and the fourth the date letter.
I’ll sally forth on these missing issues, but if there is somebody who could kindly contribute more info, it would really save me lots of sweat! Thank you kindly.
Regards
Jan
While waiting for further kind advice from forumites more experienced than I with my small collection, I found some interesting facts about this spoon in question. This was not due to the published facts about Dutch marking etc, but through comparing my spoon with other spoons from approximately the same period. Please see the marks on a comparable spoon found on a website:
The marks are described as the maker’s mark, followed by the lion rampart facing left in a crowned shield, indicating first standard silver (.925), followed by the coat of Arms of Amsterdam, followed by a date letter, followed by a duty crown and “O”.
I believe this lion stamp was stamped upside down, and if viewed correctly it seems the same as on my spoon. You might agree or might not.
Another interesting fact is that my spoon’s drop is in fact a type called a double drop. Then there is the original owner’s engraved initials applied upside down on the finial. The Dutch brought out Hanoverian pattern spoons meant to be turned over when laid out. Because these spoons are referred to by the Dutch as porridge spoons, the spoon comes next to the porridge bowl, and turned over. So the upside down initials are perfectly readable by the guests.
What fun! But what I state here is open to comment, which I will much appreciate.
Regards
Jan