unknown mark on a spoon, first half of 19th century

[R ingo]

Hello,
knows someone this mark. Is the "F" a city mark or only the maker's initial. The spoon is dated 1832.
I wish you a happy new year.

Thanks and kind regards,
Ringo

[Theoderich]

I have a mark from Friedland (Federicia DK ) 1854.
There is a semilar F.

[Hose_dk]

Fredericia has a lion as city mark or just a simple F in different variasions. So your F is fredericia. (Theoderich)

However F + 12 is not fredericia. In fact no danish town has citymark + lod in same mark. In germany city + lødighed is common but no Danish town has lødighed in same mark as city.
Lødighed was granted by mark - and therefore no need to write lødighed. Alwayes 13½ -
In germany lødighed varied from city to city / from place to place - in Denmark it did not. Always same. 13½

It was only later (after 18??) around 1813 that lower lødighed was accepted. Lower was accepted when marked - but that is always set by a seperat mark.

[blakstone]

The mark on the right — "F/12L" — is identified in an article by Werner Schmidt in Weltkunst magazine as one of a series of marks of unknown purpose which appear on 19th century Hamburg silver. These marks, not illustrated in Schliemann, are in the form of an archway (probably inspired by the archway in the Hamburg city mark where the assayer’s letter appears) and include a letter, the fineness, or both. Known examples of this “archway” mark include:

“F/12L” (items dated 1839 and, here, 1832; “12L” = 12 Lot = .750), with “FENCKER”, for Johann Friedrich Fencker (1780-by 1839), concession 1834, succ. by Wwe. Fencker [Schliemann #C 65]

“H” (ca. 1850), with “T. HASS”, for Johann Heinrich Theodor Hass (1819-after 1869), citizen 1846 [Schliemann #G 265]

“L/12” (item dated 1847; “12” = 12 Lot = .750), with “HESS”, for Ananias Hess/Hesse (1802-by 1863), concession 1832, citizen 1834 [Schliemann #C 53]

“S/730” (ca. 1865; “730” = .730 fineness), with “J. A. NOTZKE” for Immanuel Adalbert Notzke (1831-ca. 1864), citizen & master 1855 [Schliemann #680]

Schmidt postulates that these marks were applied by the maker, and may therefore be some sort of trademark. I tend to agree with this theory, but Schmidt suggests that they could conceivably be some sort of date, fineness or suburban mark. I note that the “FENCKER” mark Schmidt illustrates is not the same one here, being in block capital letters, not script. But I think there is little doubt that your spoon is by Johann Friedrich Fencker of Hamburg.

Refs:
Werner Schmidt, “Hamburg”, in Weltkunst July 2000, v. 7, pp. 1284-1286.
Erich Schliemann & Bernhard Heitmann, Die Goldschmiede Hamburgs (Hamburg: Schliemann, 1985), pp. 539, 559 & 562-563.

[R ingo]

Hello blakstone,
I thank you very much for your help and the interesting informations.

Best wishes for the new year and kind regards,
Ringo

[Theoderich]

there is an other F/12L- Mark with the Makersmark [FA]