www.925-1000.com

I recently purchased an antique porringer (still being delivered). It looked very old, with the silver looking almost black. It had the words "STERLING 1583" on it. I'm not sure if it was made in 1583, but it certainly looks old/tarnished enough to be. There's an animal above those words that I cannot quite make out. I searched the American & British hallmark libraries on this site, but could not find anything similar. It looks like a lion, though it looks different from the British leopard. It also appears to have the engraving "LILLY LANDE" on the side, though it's hard to make out.

A few questions:

• Any ideas on the hallmark and provenance? Is it American or British?
• How old do you think it is? It looks a lot like the pieces that my wife and I have seen in the museums on the US East Coast.
• What could have turned the silver so black? Is it just age?
• Should I polish this or no?

Here're some pictures:

A cleanup of marks would help, but maybe try comparing to Ellmore Silver Co. mark #1: https://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_E.html

Traintime wrote:A cleanup of marks would help, but maybe try comparing to Ellmore Silver Co. mark #1: https://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_E.html

Thank you for the reply. I suspected Ellmore, and found one on whose design looked almost identical. Even the number "1573" was similar to "1583." However, the hallmark looks different.

(admin edit - see Posting Requirements )

Companies routinely change marks over time, but you have the lion's hindquarters and the block-style "E" to the left. The stock numbers (item/pattern/catalogue/etc.) can also be altered or a slight difference may relate to size or details. [BTW..we are not allowed to post direct links to commercial site so don't be surprised when the management gets around to deleting it. Not a big deal..happens regularly.]

Traintime wrote:Companies routinely change marks over time, but you have the lion's hindquarters and the block-style "E" to the left. The stock numbers (item/pattern/catalogue/etc.) can also be altered or a slight difference may relate to size or details. [BTW..we are not allowed to post direct links to commercial site so don't be surprised when the management gets around to deleting it. Not a big deal..happens regularly.]

OK, thanks. I guess it's not as old as I thought it was, huh, given that Ellmore existed between 1935 to 1960? That's bit of a disappointment, but I guess I'm free to clean/polish it now. Sorry, did not know about the rule on not linking to commercial sites.