Tongs marked JS

[bathrick]

Just bought a pair of tongs and was wondering if anyone recognized the mark?



Also, an idea of age and use would be appreciated.





Mike

[bathrick]

I see that this got moved to "Silverplate Trademarks - Worldwide" - does this mean that it is not American Coin as I thought?

Mike

[admin]

Nope, just means that I don't think they are.
Regards, Tom

[admin]

oops, hit submit too quickly, forgot to add...
The mark on the left is one I have seen repeatedly on British plate, have never seen it on American coin. Of course, I may well be wrong, lets wait and see what the forum members think.
Regards, Tom

[bathrick]

Just hoping another forum member can confirm whether this is British silverplate or coin silver.

Mike

[2209patrick]

Checked my American and Canadian coin silver references, but no luck.
Could not find that set of marks in my British silverplate references either.

Pat.

[dognose]

Hi,

As Tom said, it's a mark that appears a lot on early plated pieces, sometimes with the cup part completely circular and sometimes with a line through the circle.
A possibility may be John Sheppard of 36, Ryland Road, Birmingham a producer of plated goods. I am not aware of his mark, but could that be a sheep on the centre mark?

Trev.

[bathrick]

Thanks, trev and Pat! - Trev, when you say early, about what time period?

It doesn't look like a sheep to me, but then I never had much of an imagination. Kind of looks like a cat to me.

Mike

[bathrick]

By the way, are they sugar tongs or ice tongs? I've heard them called both.

Mike

[dognose]

Hi Mike,

The reference I used, "Antique Plated Ware" Third Edition (1910) by Francis Pairpoint suggests Sheppard was working 1810 to about 1838. It was common then to have a mark that was associated with their name, as many people still could not read or write at this time. Sheppard/Sheep ??? Just a thought.
They would be sugar tongs.

Regards Trev.

[kerangoumar]

I notice there was a repair (1st pic) could you possibly post a picture of the outside of the join?

[bernard_ric]

For what it may be worth the mark to me more resembles a fox crossing a ploughed field.

[bathrick]

I notice there was a repair (1st pic) could you possibly post a picture of the outside of the join?

I'd be glad to. I'm still working on my photography skills, so this won't be great.




Mike

[bathrick]

Thanks for the info Trev - I'm glad the date is about what I thought, anyway.

Mike

[admin]

Mike,

I may do a little backpedaling here. In a repair of that type, to get the outside smooth again after the; breakage, filing and soldering, there is always some amount of surface loss. On a plated piece, it would need to be replated, not so on a silver piece. As your piece shows the color difference between the solder and tong material, it was not replated. This strongly suggests that they never were plated, so either my initial assessment of the marks was wrong and they are coin silver, or they are unplated nickel silver or a related alloy. Look forward to hearing others thoughts on this.

Regards, Tom

[bathrick]

Thanks, Tom - I purchased some silver testing solution the other day and tested it - it is silver (tests somewhere between coin and sterling). I did not file down through the plate (if it were plate) so I could not tell if it were plated or not.

Mike