www.925-1000.com

I bought a forty piece set of antique silver flatware, at a great price in a little store in N. Alberta. I was told the original owner was English.

I thought the set was sterling because:
1. It looked like sterling, even though it was old--no sign of base metal.
2. The store owner believed it was sterling.
3. It had hallmarks on it.

I was probably mistaken. From the forum, I now believe that the "A1" in the hallmark indicates quadruple silverplate.

The four hallmarks are:
Trumpet symbol/"H"/"Ld"/"A1"

My questions:
1. Who uses the Trumpet, H and Ld hallmarks mentioned above?
2. Four serving spoons have an "A" not "A1". Are these likely sterling?
3. Is the reason that the set is in such good condition because it is quadruple plate?
4. Why are there only four hallmarks and not five?
Thanks for any insights you might have on these questions

John

(a) Interesting mark. The only maker with a Trumpet in English plating circles I have come across is James Dixon & Sons. This sounds like substantially different.

(b) Doubtful. ANything Sterling would be marked as such.

(c) Hard to say. Maybe they were not used very much? Perhaps the plating is helping.

(d) Under English law, Sterling Silver pieces must be inscribed with certain marks to state date of making, maker, place, and the lion passant. There are between 4 and 5 marks. Silver plate makers were not bound by these rules, and could do what they liked. However, as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. They put pseudo hallmarks (which mean nothing) on their pieces to make them look like Sterling. However, due to the lack of regulations surrounding such marks, no records of the marks used was kept, and as such history and identification of such pieces are very difficult.

Waylander

Thanks Waylander for the comments. I had seen a couple of messages in the forum about trumpets and the J. Dixon & Sons connection, and was thinking along the same lines.

I wonder if the "H" might be connected to the William Hutton and Sons company, which combined with JDS around 1930? The marks could combine the two companies--but the Hutton company mark is usually WHS, I believe...so this is not entirely consistent.

Can "Ld" stand for Limited or for London? Any ideas?

Probably I need to post a photo of the pattern to get much further.

John

Reference (2010) to "H Ld" mark determined to be that of retailer Harrods' Limited: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=19750&p=45297&hili ... b17#p45297

Further info.->>Dixon is known to have made a fiddle pattern that can be found in "A" grade (less than "A1") ranging from the smaller spoons all the way up to a massive dressing spoon with a pronounced elongated rattail drop (back seam of bowl). [They may have been available for commercial ware useage (hotel, restaurant, club, etc.) in addition to household sales.]