www.925-1000.com

Hello Forum, here are two Austro-Hungarian spoons: http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/1/1313025393.jpg The large spoon measures 8 3/4" and bears three hallmarks: The post-1872 Diana head showing the third standard and 'C' for the city of Prague. The two following marks show the maker 'FB' and then a...

Hello Forum. I'm in danger of developing a taste for Austro-Hungarian silver. Here are some ladles I aquired recently: http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/1/1313021051.jpg They range in size from 13" to about 9" for the two bouillon ladles. They are made from heavy-gauge coin silver and date to ...

Hello Trev and Tom, I suppose it's possible. I can't tell if the cellar has been repaired at some point but it's perfectly possible - when I look at the other cellar with its replaced foot, the silver is not any less smooth in that area than in other areas - my eye is woefully untrained! I would exp...

Hello Miles and Tom, Thank you so much for your messages. On closer inspection it does look as if some of the marks have been filed away - but very oddly, this is not the cellar that has had a foot replaced, nor do I see any evidence of any past repair jobs having been done on it. It's strange. Even...

Hello forum,

I wonder if any of you would offer an opinion on these salt cellars - both regarding the maker and the oddity of one cellar bearing only two marks. Could it be that marks were erased after some repair work was carried out that I am not able to spot?

Best wishes

Mikael
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Hello Bahner, and thanks for sharing your insights (again). This is extremely helpful. I guess I'll tentatively assume that Viedt was the retailer then.

Thanks again and best wishes

Mikael

Oops - the correct spelling of the beast is of course GRIFFIN (although it seems griffon and gryphon are also acceptable). I must have been staring at the name Greifenberg when I wrote the post above... Best wishes, Mikael

Hello forum, Here is another pre-1886, German ladle: http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/11/31414384594.jpg It is 15 1/2 inches long, somewhat dented in the bowl but in otherwise good condition. The handle is engraved with a zig-zag pattern, marked '12' for the 750/1000 standard and also bears the griffen...

Hello Bahner - and thank you very much for the detailed and interesting account of that rather fascinating time in German silver production. The Erfurt silver tradition is interesting to me, in parts because it was, as I understand it, one of the first German cities to hallmark silver. The city of E...

Thanks Tom! Now I'm getting even more intrigued by the Erfurt silver industry during those years...

Best wishes
Mikael

PS: Do you or anyone else happen to know when Erfurt stopped using the 'E' and perhaps what symbol was used between then and 1886? The German marks page say the 'E' was used in the 17th and 18th Centuries, and this is confirmed in one of my books. If the ladle really is from Erfurt, it must be a lat...

That's brilliant, Theoderich. Thanks ever so much!

Mikael

http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/11/31010042260.jpg This punch ladle is 14 1/2 inches long; the actual silver piece measures some 5 x 3 1/2 inches. It is marked only with '12' for the .750 silver standard and the letter 'E'. http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/11/31010042313.jpg Is this an Erfurt piece? Bas...

Hello members, In another thread I asked two questions, but I suppose one of them really belongs here in the silver techniques section: The salt cellars are a matched pair, yet one only has two marks (the crowned leopard's head for London and the date letter), whereas the other one has the full five...

A lovely pair of salt cellars, seemingly with their original liners: http://img2.putfile.com/thumb/11/30519225659.jpg Both cellars are decorated with stenciling and punctures, although on both the punctures extend for only part of one side, as if leaving a gap for a monogram. On the other side, the ...

Hello Pat,

Isn't that a pump by the handle? Is it a fancy oil filler, perhaps?

Best wishes

Mikael
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Hello Charles,

Well, it certainly does seem to be George Fox.

I don't know anything about him though. Maybe someone else does...

Best wishes

Mikael
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Hello,

Your piece was made in 1898 in Birmingham by W.H. Lyde (mark entered in May 1886).

Best wishes

Mikael

http://www.925-1000.com/dlBirmingham2.html

Hello Spiritwife,

There should be a two-digit number below the three towers that indicates the year, e.g. '15' for 1915.

Best wishes

Mikael
http://www.925-1000.com/dm_Assay.html

That sounds like a Sheffield piece. 'HH' is the maker, the crown is the symbol for Sheffield, the lion denotes sterling silver (925/1000 purity), and 'Y' denotes the year. Have a look at this page: Sheffield Hallmarks . See if you can match your 'Y' with one in the table and then scroll down for mak...