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Background, this piece of silverware was offered in online auction which has passed already. I did not win the lot. I was curious about the oddity of the marks, and was wondering whether I passed on an example of Chinese export silver. Thank you for any assistance anyone is able to provide me.
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Not so mysterious, albeit a bit more unusual than what one normally encounters.
The hallmark appears to be for Exeter, 1805-6:
The maker looks like William Welch II:
Unusual, because Exeter was one of the lesser-used assay offices, and closed completely in the late 19th Century.
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Incredible, thank you! I thought the lion passant looked sloppy and fake!
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Maybe just heavily rubbed - the duty mark is also pretty tough to make out. Lots of enthusiastic polishing, I suspect. 
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