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:::: I found the face of a man in an oval on another fork in a large collection of antique silver forks and that fork also bears a [70] hallmark so I believe that means "70 grams of silver used in the silver-plating process" and therefore this is a silver-plate hallmark. :::::: It's the sa...

::::: Please have it tested ::::
::::: I still believe this fork to be silver. :::::
::::: The detail in the face of a man in an oval is very good. ::::

:::: Kutch silver is most often not hallmarked but there are ways to recognize it by high level of worked detail & dense plant/animal imagery :::::
:::: If I'm on the wrong track let me know but I don't know which other track to follow for a coconut silver object like this. ::::

:::::: Snake-handled vessels appear in the silver of the Kutch region of India ::::: If those birds are peacocks it would be a Hindu symbol as peacocks eat snakes and have an entire mythology surrounding them in the Hindu symbol universe. ::::: I've seen coconut-shell vessels made in Ceylon (Sri Lan...

::::: There are "ball-knopped spoon" examples (some with twisted handles) from the 17th century in museums so if this spoon is not Dutch is it from Norway or Sweden? :::::: At the very least I think it's safe to say this is an example of a "ball-knopped spoon" and that helps a li...

::::: On the bamboo handle do you believe that to be a hallmark or is that part of the decoration? ::::::: I could be mistaken but I believe I see it. :::

:::: If there's no hallmarks anywhere, even on the outside of that gilded part where the lid fits into the body (sometimes tiny hallmarks like to hide there), then you would have to just start thinking about the construction of the box and little details that might give away the age. :::: For instan...

:::: Yes try Dutch or German, I saw those "HM Conjoined" references but your hallmark is not in a circular cartouche :::: Also how exactly is the end piece joined to the twisted part of the handle? A better pic of that section might help to understand the construction of the spoon. The con...

:::::: I knew an antiques dealer who specialized in glass trade beads and many were sourced from Africa so the Tuareg silver got swept up with the bead trade so that's how I bought my Tuareg silver pieces. :::: I have one ring that is really old and worn where you can see a tightly woven basket of h...

:::::: Morocco has that exact same star symbol on their coins from the 19th century :::::: :::::: Morocco has a tradition of silver boxes with semi-precious stones so that is a second clue :::: :::::: If you want to get really specific, there is a really incredible tradition of silversmiths that com...

::::::: Samuel Freeman the watch case specialist registered 1862 is possible if that looks like an "S" and an "F" although the letters are rubbed. :::::::

::: The Portuguese hallmarks for mixed-metals jewelry enacted in 1938 are confusing because they do not specify the fineness of the metals. :::: ::: All you basically know is that you bought a ring made of gold & silver (dog's head & chicken) but you don't know the fineness of either metal? ...

:::: Many of the details here seem more like a Mughal silver object rather than a Persian object. :::: Mughal silver has similar bird-and-flower designs on their betel nut boxes which were designed to store betel nuts or pandan paste so sometimes they are called pandan boxes. ::: There is also a des...

:::: The "STERLING" font looks similar to hallmarks found on pieces made in Japan for export to other countries. ::::

That should read "19th Century Denmark" sorry about that. ::::: We're interested in the years 1800-1892 ::: 1893 was when the "three-towers" hallmark was introduced ::::

My Peter Pedersen Mollerup spoon from Viborg had only a single makers mark on it and then I read that thread about the "double-stamped" marks which led me to other examples which had two makers marks and none of the other hallmarks you would associate with Denmark. :::: I don't know why De...

There is a similar "spine" on my Trondheim spoon with a similar length as your spoon (between 9 and 10 inches) & a similar shape to the end of the handle & a similar length of 9-10 inches (which seems unusual for an English Provincial/American Serving Spoon). :::: I was just wonder...

::::: One other question about the construction of the spoon: Does it have a slight mid-rib on the back of the handle where that "1808" begins or is that area flat? Can you see a faint raised line that bisects the back of the handle? I can't see from the pics if that area is smooth or does...

I was thinking 1785-1795 and I do think 1808 is a little late for the overall shape & design of the spoon. :::: I would keep trying to find the maker (Scandanavia or Germany?) and take really good pictures of the hallmarks so that the letters are very sharp. ::: It could very well have been boug...

The double-stamp makers mark has been seen in Provincial Danish spoons & combined with that original 1803 inscription if you trace the name you could be looking somewhere in Scandinavia :::: At first it doesn't make sense because the Old-English bright-cut border design you would think that make...