Colonial Silver Co ?

[moongoddess]

I am lost. I found this while cleaning my recently deceased aunt's house out. I have no clue what to call it. I am having NO luck finding anything on this silver company anywhere on the 'net.

The photos aren't very good--the flash was reflecting, but without the flash, you couldn't see anything... It is terribly tarnished. It is hammered. The mark is as follows:

on top: a small crest-looking thing (could be a tree) with something inside it i can't make out

next to that: 1300

below that: COLONIAL SILVER CO.

on bottom: four boxes inside which are four olde-english style letters that look like C P E M, but they aren't easily made out, so I could be wrong.

Any help identifiying what this is, how old it may be, and history on the company is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[moongoddess]

Well, if no one has info re: Colonial Silver Co. itself, is there anyone out there that can tell me what this item is, what it was used for, and is it actually silver(plate)? Could it possibly be pewter or some other metal?

I'm not sure what to clean it with until I find out which kind of metal it is...
Will it do much harm if I clean it with Brasso (good for copper, pewter, as well)?

Any suggestions or hints would be helpful.

Thanks a bunch!

[Neruda]

The Colonial Silver Company was at Portland, Maine. Apparently it was the successor to the Stevens Silver Company in 1899 and remained in business until the 1940s.
My guess is CPEM is "old English" lettering and should read EPBM, electro-plated britannia metal - a type of pewter used in the 19th and early 20th centuries for silverplating.