A couple of question Hanau pieces

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AllSeasons
Posts: 265
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

A couple of question Hanau pieces

Post by AllSeasons »

I came across a couple of Hanau pieces that are a little peculiar, or maybe it's just due to my own lack of understanding.

For the first piece (Item A), the bottom part is completely green. Is that normal? It's also not marked 800 or any other purity. Does that mean it's not silver, or maybe silver-plated? My impression to date is that Hanau silver is always solid silver of varying purity levels, from 750 all the way to 925. I also read that the minimum purity imposed by the German government at the time was 800, but the Hanau silversmiths had a special pass of some sort. Any thoughts on the purity level of this particular item? The first mark looks like Gebruder Neumann's grapes; the second mark is maybe George Roth; and the third one looks like Storck & Sinsheimer's grapes. So that is to say, I'm at a complete loss. The images are below.

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The images are below. Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Item A

Image
Image


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AG2012
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Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:47 am

Re: A couple of question Hanau pieces

Post by AG2012 »

Hi,
Moisture in the air can react with the copper present in silver alloy, causing a green discoloration,particularly in salt cellars.
I think both pieces are solid silver, possibly of lower fineness in the first example, e.g. 750.
Attribution looks OK.
Regards
AllSeasons
Posts: 265
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2021 2:35 pm

Re: A couple of question Hanau pieces

Post by AllSeasons »

AG2012 wrote:Hi,
Moisture in the air can react with the copper present in silver alloy, causing a green discoloration,particularly in salt cellars.
I think both pieces are solid silver, possibly of lower fineness in the first example, e.g. 750.
Attribution looks OK.
Regards
Perfect, thank you!
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