www.925-1000.com

True, I have not had that problem yet. I always check their other inventory and see what kind of things they sell and see how much they sell for. I rarely do auctions, usually make an offer or buy it now and they need clear pics. I usually also look for misidentified items because I usually can't af...

lol it's true and obnoxious. Thanks to the overwhelming quantity of fakes on that "popular internet auction website" I never buy any antiques that ship from China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. Poland and some other eastern European countries are also o...

your bowl is a modern "fake" and not solid silver but silver plated over what looks like brass. You can see the base metal coming through at the edges of the base. The stone is most likely composite jade or more likely serpentine. You can find tons of these on a popular electronic auction ...

Also I think its called a "Tzinder" and specifically used for Shabbat candles.

I found nearly your exact same one at eichlers.com

It is definitely Isreali and of Jewish significance, I believe for ceremonial lighting purposes. You can still buy them from contemporary Isreali silver firms such as Hazorfim. This piece is also most likely contemporary to within the last few decades.

Hi again, I tried looking around some more and I think your piece is 15th - 17th century and definitely from a Catholic country, I lean towards Spain and I lean more towards 15/16th century. But I should be clear I am not an expert or authority on these matters. There is a regular contributor, usern...

well since the Christogram uses Latin letters it is probably best to search countries that use the Latin alphabet first. The style of the mark looks 18th /17th century. The patina in the pics of your item looks recent but I think it is because of your camera's flash. I cannot quite place that mark t...

I think it is a reliquary. There was probably wood, glass and cloth parts that are now missing that find in the center. It also looks like it is hallmarked in two spots. They look similar but could you post up close pics of both? It might help.

I see lots of vintage and antique gold filled pieces through my job and not all pieces with the fraction will also have the G.F. just as not all pieces with G.F. will have the fraction. The 14/20 is basically a condensed version of "1/20 14k". They will use this or just G.F. on pieces occa...

Thanks for the quick response. At least I know I am not doing something wrong. Hopefully, it does get fixed soon. It has come in handy on many occasions

Whenever I go to the site nothing comes up anymore. perhaps I am doing something wrong? It is a wonderful and valuable site and I miss it

Thank you for the update. I was hoping someone with more knowledge than I would chime in. I love old Spanish silver but I have so few opportunities to handle it. It seems to be fairly rare, at least in the places I am looking anyway.

Any feedback, conjecture or speculation is welcome. I am pretty sure it is old (late 17th / early 18th century) but I could be wrong about that. I have no idea what to really think on this piece

I have a spoon that definitely appears to be quite old with lots of wear. It is not marked anywhere I can find. It may have been marked and the marks are worn away but I can't really tell because of how worn it is. I have searched all my books and I can find nothing. I bought it from a dealer in NYC...

My problem is that I want them to be 17th century but that can be dangerous when trying to accurately date something. I try to look at everything as a pessimist until there is solid evidence to the contrary despite my wants. Sadly none of the pieces I buy ever have any known provenance, if they did ...

I am definitely not experienced enough to be 100% sure of a pieces date but I am confident that the mark and construction and style of the spoon match the spoon in Fries museum you showed me. Do we know how the museum confirmed the age beyond the inscription? Also Mr. Schipper should write a book as...

ahh, until I saw the pictures you sent me I had never seen anything like that before so I (and the original seller) had presumed it was a later 19th-century piece in a fantasy 17th-century style. I guess it could still be a fantasy piece though. I have Voet's "Merken van Friese goud- en zilvers...

I could be wrong but the second spoon picture you sent me, item number 03758, St. Andrew spoon looks like a good match. The handle is made almost exactly in the same style and the mark looks very similar as well though I can't see its mark up close. The museum lists it as an Unknown Friesland maker.

Hi, Peter I was hoping you would reply! Thank you so much for the information. I eagerly await your verdict. Also I tried to buy that book on commemorative spoons but it looks like the museum does not have an online store.

Whoever PJ NL or NE is, is probably the key to the mystery here which is why I asked if there are clearer pictures. Despite your excellent efforts, the other marks are so small its hard to tell what it is but I have never seen French Eagle head marks inside a diamond and these would be the first sol...