Hello, my mother is moving and whilst clearing out found these 3 spoons all approx 8.5 inches long, 2 have E & co Elkington Plate with one having the letter H and the other the letter I. The final spoon has the number 1 and various markings
You have probably realised from the words “Elkington Plate” that these 2 spoons are electroplated rather than silver; and the other spoon is also electroplate. On this spoon the letters are EPGS - for ElectroPlated German Silver. German Silver is an old term for nickel silver which is a base metal alloy containing no silver. The maker’s initials appear to be RS but I cannot identify him. The number 1 may be an indication of plating quality, although this is normally given as letters and numbers; e.g. A1, A, B1, etc.
It is not normally possible to date electroplate and this is true for the odd spoon. However Elkington used a system of date coding of their own and the letters H and I in a four-lobed punch shape represent the dates 1919 and 1920.