www.925-1000.com

Thanks for the additional info, Qrt.S. It's appreciated. -- I don't think I could ethically put forgeries back on the market and will keep the spoons as an object lesson. I do think they're beautiful anyway. The next generation can figure out what to do with them. -- Regards, John

Hi AG2012 and Qrt.S, Thank you for your comments. I am not surprised or disappointed. It's what I expected. I do have a couple comments and questions though, if you have another moment. Regarding the kokoshnik mark, yes, I can see many differences; shape of cartouche, font for 88, relative size of a...

Hello - I recently bought these coffee spoons, which were said to be Faberge. I thought they were probably fake, but bought them anyway because I was intrigued by the design and they were not expensive. After having them for a while, I am even more intrigued and would appreciate an expert opinion. I...

That sure looks like it, Cheryl. Thanks.

Thanks for the additional info, Agphile. I'll look into them further when I get a chance. I appreciate your input.

Thanks, Agphile, for the response. I'm hard put to find similar American coin silver spoons as old as we thought these spoons were, so I suspect you're right that they're not John Coney's. Coney did work until about 1720 (d. 1722) but the monogram is shaky enough that it probably wouldn't be attribu...

oops - I meant Ada Harvey Hersey, not Ava Harvey Hersey.

Hi Group - These spoons were passed down in the Coney family to Sally Gay Coney (1801-1875) who left them to her granddaughter, Ava Harvey Hersey (1858-1954) who gave them as a wedding gift to my parents in 1947. The (unwritten) story that accompanied the spoons is that they were made by Boston silv...

Well, the silversmith didn't have much to say, except that it's pewter. Not his specialty.

Thanks Trev - Wilkens it is. I was seeing the crown as a bear. Interesting how the appearance of things change when you know what they are. - A little sobering to see all the German hallmarks with the Star of David. - Thanks for you help. - Nino

Hi all - I got these spoons on eBay and they were shipped from Bulgaria. Don't know if they're originally from that area or not. I think they're Art Deco style, but I could be wrong. - Any insights on the hallmarks and/or design would be very welcome. Thanks, Nino https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...

Hi agphile and oel, and thanks for the additional information and pictures. I doubt a treasure has fallen into our hands, but will continue to fantasize about it for a while longer. Unfortunately, I was busy today and forgot to go to the silversmith. Hopefully I'll remember Monday. Interestingly, I ...

Thank you, Agphile, for your comments. I was able to research "wrythen knop," from your comments, and understand what you mean by desirable. Our friend was a wealthy art collector and would have been disdainful of a copy or reproduction, but he could have been fooled and the piece was not ...

Hi - This spoon was found in a box of silver left to us by a friend. I can't figure out anything about it and I'm not even sure it is silver (although our friend was unlikely to keep junk.) It is very soft metal and has a crack and bend along the stem. The hallmark looks a little like a fleur de lis...

Hi Diana - I'm very glad you like the flat file idea and also glad you already have a cabinet you can use. I looked up the geology specimen cabinet and it's so perfect, I'm jealous. - Regarding the buffer, I think you're right to separate it from your photography area, because there will be a lot of...

Hi Diana. I recently bought a 3/4 horsepower bench buffer with 6 inch wheels for polishing flatware. It's a great tool but practice first on unimportant pieces. I'm far from expert, but understand from my own research that you'll want flannel wheels and jewellers rouge for the best results. Other ro...

Great - thank you, Oel. - I think it's interesting that 1/2 my set was pre-1869 (based on Janus hallmark) and the other half was post-1878 (based on BB hallmark.)

I think I figured it out. Half the utensils, those with the Janus hallmark, are pre-1868, and the other half, with the BB hallmark are post-1870. I think that's right. Here are the other hallmarks, not shown above:

Ah - just noticed that the two different marks don't exist together in my pictures. I will need to check if they do on any of the other pieces. Though they all match as a set, the hallmarks appear in different configurations from piece to piece. Will take another look.

Hi - I just noticed a contradiction with my understanding of the marks for these pieces. The makers mark Roman B inside Script B is attributed to Bousin-Bonnevie, who were active after 1875 (http://www.blakstone.com/BousinBonnevie.JPG) but the Janus 2 mark, for 800 silver, went out of use in 1868 (h...