Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

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Tawdry
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Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:57 am

Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by Tawdry »

I inherited a silver spoon from my Grandmother who immigrated from what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It should date to the early 1800's but I am unsure. As the attached picture shows, inscribed on the spoon handle are the letters 'L' and 'M' and 'K'. Next to these letters is a circled 'N' surrounded by numbers (1802 ?). Separately, these is another symbol which is difficult to discern. Can someone help me identify these hallmarks? Thanks.
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dognose
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by dognose »

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

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How to Add Images

http://www.tinypic.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is recommended

Trev.
Tawdry
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by Tawdry »

Image Image
silverport
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by silverport »

Assay Office mark (from 1802) and Tax control mark (from 1810-1822) of Lemberg

Hello »Tawdry«

Yours spoon is made in a typical plain pattern of that time span of around 1800 by the silversmith »L/MK« (his identity I don’t know actually) of Lemberg. The spoon is assayed in 1802 at the local Assay Office there (witch had then the indication letter »N«) and became between 1810-1822 the Tax control mark of that town (»TF«, witch had then the indication letter »D«).

»Lemberg« was after 1772 (Second division of Poland) the capital of the Austro-Hungary Kingdom of Galicia.

Lemberg (ukrainian: Львів, Lwiw, [lʲβ̞iu̯], polish: Lwów, russian: Львов, Lwow)

Kind regards silverport
blakstone
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by blakstone »

Just as a minor point of clarification, while the N in the assay mark indicated the Lemberg district, the upper letter in Galician maker's marks of this time indicated the city in that district where the maker worked: here, L = Lemberg (now Lviv, Ukraine). (Others in the Lemberg district were G = Grodek, I = Janow, S = Szczerzec and I- = Jarczow.) So the maker's initials are "MK", not "L/MK".
Tawdry
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by Tawdry »

Thank you. Wonderful job and very informative!
What is the meaning of the "13" and the other anchor-like symbol?
Tawdry
silverport
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Re: Help with Austro-Hungarian hallmarks

Post by silverport »

13 = silver fineness of 13/16 = 812.5/1,000 - »anchor« = tax control mark

Hello »Tawdry«

The 13 above the encircled N, and the year ciphers around of that, is the indication of the silver fineness in »Lot« (Loth).

Please read the »Illustrated Silver Glossary« of our site - that would be for sure one of yours best spend hours.

http://www.925-1000.com/silverglossary.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The by you so called »anchor« is the Austro-Hungary tax control mark - a sign that for to own and behold an item, made from precious material, the tax there fore was paid.

The money from the tax was needed to finance the costs of the Napoleonic wars.

That's history in Continental Europe, which tackled all humans of that time.

Kind regards silverport
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