Got a nice old silver cig box
Maybe not worth too much as engraved GWG as a gift to grandfather. Maybe 1950s?
I’m really struggling to decipher the mark
Can any of you pros sprinkle your magic?
Thank you
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What you’ve got there is from the Chester assay office, 1935.
Much obliged Jeff thanks
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Chester surprised me a bit, but it appears that even though Walker & Hall were from Sheffield, they ran quite a few pieces through the Chester assay office.
The monogram would probably hurt the value. But weigh it and do some quick arithmetic - weight x 0.925 x spot price of silver. At present things are selling for less than “melt value,” alas, even pristine antiques. Tough market. Better as a keepsake.
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The probable reason for a Chester hallmark on a Walker & Hall piece is that it may have been made by a Birmingham manufacturing silversmith who was contracted by W&H to produce it. Many Birmingham silversmiths used Chester Assay Office in addition to Birmingham, maybe for a faster turn-round or other reasons. And here I must note that what we carelessly refer to as a maker’s mark is actually a sponsor’s mark and doesn’t always identify the actual manufacturer. W&H marks also appear with London hallmarks, possibly for similar reasons.
Phil
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It’s a bit like Liberty and Company, which didn’t make anything!
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Interesting. It’s worth reminding ourselves the official Chester Assay Office was established by the UK Plate Assay Act in 1701, although a guild of goldsmiths had been operating in the city since the 15th century. Based in Goss Street, it remained active until it closed in 1962.
Chester silver is highly collectible today, known for its distinctive town mark, the Arms of Chester: three wheat sheaves and a sword.
Birmingham silversmiths, led by Matthew Boulton, who was an an inventor and manufacturer rather than.silversmith, wanting to avoid the sometimes hazardous 73-mile carriage ride to Chester, lobbied long and hard and eventually successfully for a Birmingham Assay Office which was opened by Act of Parliament in 1773 and remains operational.
CRWW
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