1916 German Pilot's cup - 925 "STERLING" marks?

[Aerowallah]

I have seen a 4 inch cup to a German ace from 1916. But the hallmarks completely throw me.

STERLING? On a German cup? Presented in Germany? At first I thought the cup was exported to the US. There also appears to be a maker's mark..."HW" it looks like.

Any help ID'ing this would be appreciated.

[admin]

Hi,
See Emil Hermann at German Hallmarks after 1886
The use of sterling standard would suggest manufacture of a couple of decades later than 1916.
Regards, Tom

[dognose]

Hi Aerowallah,
The marks are just as they should be, the Crown and Cresent were introduced in the 1880's in Germany, the 925 is the Sterling standard, 925/1000 purity, the word Sterling although English is thought by many to have German origin's coming from the word Easterlings refering to early German migrants who brought their assaying skills to England.
Check out the German Marks Page for the maker,
Regards Trev.

[dognose]

Tom,
Sorry about the overlapping post,
Trev.

[Aerowallah]

Thanks, Tom, Trev. That seems pretty definite. EH made this after the war...maybe even way after!

But I had never seen STERLING before on German pieces. Thanks for the education!

Rgds
John

[Bahner]

Hello, I agree, maker is Hermann and I believe this was made anytime betweeen the 1960ies and today. To put this bluntly: I question the authenticity of the engraving.... Best wishes, Bahner

[Waylander]

I agree with Bahner. The engraving would appear to be designed to capitalise on the purported "providence" of a piece related to the German flying ace Max Immelman.

Waylander

[Aerowallah]

I concur with you guys! It was salted in with some great paperwork, but not enough to overcome the deficiencies in this cup.

Thanks.
Rgds
John