Mystery Item, please help

[simonfreeman]

Hi
I am just getting into silver and had been reading hall mark books now to help understand them. I have also been reading up on pewter. I bought what I thought was a pewter tankard at a car boot with some marks for £1 purely (and I do mean purely) as an exercise to take it home and try and read the marks.

But it has proven beyond me. The marks are in the photos. Firstly the marks did not appear to be pewter. But they also did not seem to be sterling as there was no lion. I could also not identify it as plate. It maybe of course a con. But as it was bought for an exercise this is as useful an outcome to know as any.

The marks are what appears to be a sword (or a cross with a long bottom limb) in a shield, a crown (which is why I thought it to be sheffield), another shield with some dots through it making up a line (hard to see) and what appears to be an A and B which look the same as the date letters 1779 and B like 1783. But I could not understand why two date letters.

None of it makes sense (bad one to start with) and the marks may not be british (and therefore the crown not sheffield). I have searched and search for the sword or cross in the shield on many sites and books and on this site but to no avail.

Photos attached are on my blog site as they are too big to fit on (as per advice in tutorial). Not good, but hard to photo marks through lens and then into iphone.

Thanks for help.

Regards

Simon

[dognose]

Hi Simon,

Welcome to the Forum.

Please post embedded images.

How to Add Images

http://www.tinypic.com is recommended.

Trev.

[simonfreeman]

Hi,
Sorry Trev, new to this. I had read that and it said if your images are too big then it would be better to post a link than include the image. So this is what I did. I have no editing software so cannot cut them down. I will try and sort it today.

Regards

Simon

[simonfreeman]

And image of the whole thing I cannot get cut down. Hopefully the link below will take you there

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V2h2OjTtJqI/T ... G_0984.jpg

[dognose]

See Alfred Browett at: http://www.925-1000.com/silverplate_B2.html

and: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=14729&start=35

Trev.

[simonfreeman]

Thanks Trev.
Apologies for the post in the wrong section.

Regards

S