Help with strange Hallmarks on Serving spoon

[o.parky]

Hi all, This is my first post on this forum.

A couple of days ago, I bought a large silver serving spoon from an antique shop. It looks to be quite old and it is very large, weighing in at a total of 177 grams (over 6 ounces). It is about 35cm long and it looks to be quite old (mid-late 1800s?). I believe the pattern to be something along the lines of fiddle, thread and shell?

I am 100% sure that the spoon is solid silver, not plated, but I have no clue what the hallmarks are or what they mean. The first one is a capital A, the second one is a J in a shield, but, it appears to have been stamped over something else. The next mark is an R in a square and it has been stamped over something in a shield. After that is a six pointed star, then another one which is stamped over something in a shield, then two stars, then another one.

I have no clue about the history, origins, hallmarks or over-stamping on this spoon, so, any info would be greatly appreciated.















Thanks,
Oscar (o.parky)

[dognose]

Hi Oscar,

Welcome to the Forum.

I am 100% sure that the spoon is solid silver, not plated,

How did you come to that conclusion?

Trev.

[o.parky]

Hi Trev, I have acid tested the spoon and it has passed as silver.

Thanks,
Oscar.

[dognose]

Hi Oscar,

It's a great spoon, and a real good find, but to me, I see no evidence of hallmarks, only the over-stamping of silver-platers marks, probably English ones, perhaps struck by a retailer.

Acid testing is unreliable and destructive. To get a correct result, such an item would have to be deep filed and be damaged forever, imagine what such an item would like after it had passed thorough the hands of dozen or so collectors/dealers who used such a test during the course of it's 100+ years history. There are other and better ways of testing, such as gravity testing or spectrometer testing, these methods are non-evasive and safe.

Trev.