Unkown Mark; unsure if silver

[populous38]

Hi Guys
I have 2 large forks but don't recognise the markings. Doesn't say A1, just a 1.
Does anyone have any idea.
Appreciated as always.
Cheers
Gary

[dognose]

Hi Gary,

Your images are tiny, but it appears to be one of the earlier sets of marks of James Dixon & Sons of Sheffield.



The '1' and '2' are likely quality indicators.

Trev.

[populous38]

Thanks Trev, thats exactly them. Would you hazard a date.
Gary

[dognose]

1860's - 1870's perhaps. Their 'Trumpet' trade mark is seen from 1879.

Trev.

[Traintime]

Dixon is known to have used quality marks of both "A" and "A1". It may be possible that "1" & "2" were earlier representations of their two grades, but also note (see this advert.) that they handled plating of both Nickel Silver (E.P.N.S./N.S.) and Britannia Metal (E.P.B.M./B.M.) and distinguished between these two base metals: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=43288&p=123340&hilit=dixon+trumpet+a&sid=36ef60aae1b37c0bb9f3af5beed5c667#p123340

So...it may be possible that this was early coding for the base metals used rather than the plating grades. [So far, Dixon is not known to have ever used date codes, even on commercial supply wares.]