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One wonders if the punch broke on the initial strike, and then the two pieces were used on the other two. The J and the d look right for the McDougal JMd. Wonder how the rest of the set was marked. This is indeed the auction lot from which I got my reference, and, as I declared, I collated my book f...

Hello Alex, Many thanks for your reponse, apologies for the delay in coming back, but I have been so deep in the book, having arrived at the Great Plan result. The new book will have the 800+ photographs deployed on pages facing the town lists. You will not have seen the new book as it is not yet fi...

I have seen a similar mark before, but it was not attributed to any of the known makers. An example of the spooon being better than the punch, but there is the chance that the maker did not want to be known, as it was a £100 fine, as well as loss of piece, if caught not having it assayed. That sum ...

I really would be very grateful for some more feedback from collectors. Most of the feedback I have been able to gather so far, is from dealers and auctioneers, but collectors' views are very important to ensure getting the book lay-out correct for the majority. This is not just a sneaky way of adve...

Many thanks, Bob.
Richard

From the "Stitch in time" label and the central container, it is, in all probability a needle case.

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many thanks, Trev.
Richard

In 2003, I published my Directory of Scottish Provincial Silversmiths & their Marks. Having sold out, I am now working on the production of an illustrated version as a follow up. This will have the addition of about 800 sets of marks illustrated, ignoring ABC-, CAB-type variations, plus all the ...

I am confident that your J.P piece is not Scottish Provincial. There are some pieces with an 'I' tentatively attributed to Greenock. though your piece has a mark, which may be called a stylised thistle, so it may have been made by a Scottish smith in the colonies. The marks are unusually crisp, with...

I have seen a fork with the A at right angles to the J HARDY ABDN, that was plated, but still collectable.

Very interesting, CWH is a previously unlisted user of these marks.
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The third mark is often referred to as a pot. Just what the reason was, is unknown.

Richard
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Hello Trev, That is true, some of them made their punches using a steel nail, which explains why they were so rough. Most were made to excellent specs. The problem is that there should be several spoons around with the same punch being used, and this is the only example with any of these marks. Rich...

I agree with Trev.
It's one of his many marks, but, he was making silver pieces for 26 years.

Richard
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Trev, The only Peterhead smith that I have heard of since my book came out was a spoon with a miss-struck maker's mark of P? on either side of a PHD, with the D small. c1820 was the dating. The Peterhead WS of William Smith is different to all the WS punches of William Simpson of Banff, so the proba...

Hello all, There's Paisley, of course, but they have the wrong anchor, again for this. I did see one piece catalogued for Dundee, Edward Livingstone, a long time ago. Not having seen the actual item or a photo, there is a possibility that it was really a mistruck thistle that they were looking at. R...

I doubt if it's Scottish. The bowl looks the wrong shape and the spoon appears to be of too heavy gauge.
Richard
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Hello Miles, definitely not Dumfries - the fouling rope is going the wrong way for Dumfries (and Twentyman of Calcutta, Hunt had no fouling). The high loop should be on the left, here it is on the right. Greenock has no fouling rope and the rope is wrong for Peterhead, as is the W (the Peterhead smi...

I do not think that it is a Scottish spoon, however it may be Indian Colonial. John Hunt & Co, of Calcutta, 1808 - 15 used a similar anchor and their mark was J.H with the pellet in a high position, (see Wilkinson Indian Colonial Silver, page 100). The mark shown is not as squashed as this one, ...

Hello Trev, Just keep searching. There are still goodies lying around unrecognised, and someone has to pick them up. You have a nice scoop there, and we've both learnt about the veracity of the old 'stories'. Thinking on it, to produce a punch as good and clear as your duty mark, it would have cost ...