SPOONS MARKED DIXON

[raen]

Sorry I have no photographs. I recently bought what apper to be silverplated spoons in a fiddle pattern in Sydney, Australia. They seem quite old but probably not antique. They have the name DIXON stamped in plain capital letters on the underside of the handle. Next to the name is a simple picture of what may be a trumpet or bugle. There is also what may be a capital A in a shield shape, this is to the left of the name near the beginning of the stem.

I know that Dixon and sons made sterling stuff and that they had a trumpet mark, but these are only marked DIXON not JD & S etc. They have silver wearing off in places, rubbed off mainly on the base of the bowls, and also pitmarks, so I'm thinking they are silver plated. Also there is no 925 or any other marks apart from the name DIXON and A (?).

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Waylander]

From your description, they are silver plate. From what I believe, the Trumpt mark was only used by Dixon on plate, not on sterling. A? is probably A1, indicating the (purported) quality of the plating.

Waylander

PS Good to see another Sydneysider on this site!

[raen]

Thank you Waylander. So you think they must be by Dixon, then? Any idea about how I would tell what age they are?

Thanks so much for responding.

[Waylander]

Well, a start is that the piece would only have been produced while the company was in business! The trouble with most plate manufacturers is that they did not use "date letters" (some did, but I'm not sure if Dixon was one). A photo of the piece is the best bet, as the design and style of the piece can usually allow a rough guess as to its age.

Waylander