Could anyone please help me identify these hallmarks on my fish knives and forks? I think they are John Sherwood & Sons, but any more information would be very helpful. I would very much like to buy another two forks to complete my set.
Very many thanks!
Silversmith and electroplate manufacturer John Sherwood & Sons operated on King’s Heath, Birmingham UK from 1858 to 1913, frequently marking silverplate and sterling items JS&S and adding a beaver symbol which you can see present on your cutlery. John Sherwood Sr. started closeplating as John Sherwood and son in 1810. John died in 1854. John set up his son John Jr. in the silverplate manufacturing sometime before 1858. John Jr. worked with his father John and Uncle Richard Sherwood on Lichfield Street. John Junior’s sons, William and George show as the owners of John Sherwood and Sons 1858 Ltd.
The capital “A” in a circle denotes the quality of the plating on your items. Not as thick as A1 but good. Missing is the crown which was used by this company prior to 1896 when the UK parliament passed laws prohibiting the use of the crown on anything other than sterling silver assayed and placed there by the Sheffield Assay office which had adopted it as its town mark.
The plain “A” together with the absence of the crown used before it was banned and the unembellished old English style of the implements all point us toward an Edwardian or later 20th century date of manufacture.
And finally the matter of purchase of two more forks to complete the set. Set up monitors for them on Ebay and you might get lucky.
But here’s a plan “B”. Don’t buy anymore plate which has little or no intrinsic value and virtually zero silver content. Instead look for a complete set of sterling at auction.
This sort of thing:
Somebody got 25 troy oz of sterling silver for £120 back in 2005. The scrap value of that set of fish knives and forks today is £1,065.75.
A 788.13% probably tax free increase in price in 21 years beats even the seven big tech stock returns.
And there is every sign silver is about to continue north as the central banks lose control of national fiat currency under the vote-buying-with-our-own-cash practices of politicians we put in charge.
