how old are the coin silver spoons?

British Silver Reading Silver Hallmarks
1

the six coin silver spoons have marked “coin”,“L.D.LEACH” and lion(?).
i checked “The Online Encyclopedia of American Silver Marks”.
the manufacturer could be “Whiting Manufacturing Company”.
i want to know when the spoons were made.
and the full name of the maker.

thanks. :laughing:

2

Hi there Silverain and thanks for joining us. The mark is that of the Whiting Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island. The comapny was founded in 1840 and bought by Gorham in 1926 and the Whiting mark was used thereafter as well. Whiting was one of the few American makers that used a system of date marks, but only from 1905 to 1924. Your spoons do not bear a date mark. The term “coin” denotes silver of 90% purity vs. “sterling” that is 92.5% pure silver. Most American makers began using sterling vs. coin in the mid-1800s but some continued to use coin silver until about 1900. Your spoons are in excelent condition, appearing almost unused. The fiddleback design is a very old pattern. I’ll hazard a guess they were made in the 1860-1870 time frame, but surely prior to 1905.

Regards,

Uncle Vic