Recommendations Please?

[DebM]

I was recently given about a dozen coin silver spoons, but unfortunately I have zero knowledge about these. I have spent hours surfing the internet (many of those hours have been spent pouring through this site and forum), trying to learn what I can. Can someone recommend a couple of tried & true resources that I could refer to, particularly from a beginners standpoint that would be most beneficial to me? There seems to be a wealth of books and websites on the subject which is a bit overwhelming considering that I'm 47 yrs. old and I had never even heard of coin silver spoons prior to a month ago.

I'd like to learn more about the spoons in terms of their history (although that seems pretty basic), how to identify the markings on the spoons, what they represent & how to use them to research a particular spoon and, what are the most important details (including the proper terminology to use) when describing the condition of the spoon.

If I missed the section of this site that has these answers, I apologize, but I've pretty much gone through every page on the site and have searched the forum endlessly and while I have a better understanding of the spoons, I was hoping for some guidance from the resident experts here. I also apologize if this is in the wrong forum but none of the others seemed any better fit for my question.

Thanks!
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[DebM]

I think I was able to get a couple decent pictures of the a couple spoons, then my camera died (didn't realize the low battery indicator was flashing). So here are 2 of the spoons. I apologize in advance if the files are too big or some other irritating problem and will try to fix any problems asap. The first set of 3 are all the same spoon, same for the 2nd set of 3. I didn't bother trying to miss with the adjustments on the camera so some of the spoons look like they have a gold tint to them, which they don't, both are silver. Thanks










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[2209patrick]

Great work on the pictures! You should give lessons.

My books show a James P. Barnes (c. 1848-1869) of Louisville. Kentucky. No mark shown, so I can't say for sure that the first spoon's marks are his.

The second spoon has psuedo marks that were used by many different silversmiths. Can't identify the maker for you.

Pat.
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[DebM]

Rather than post a bunch of pictures, especially in a forum that's not suppose to have pictures, I went ahead and took the rest of the pics so here's the link to my album on putfile.

http://www.putfile.com/dmc161/images/101827

I am still in search of recommendations though on a few good resources to review so I can get a better understanding of these items.

Thanks again.
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[dmay]

I think you will be able to identify the maker or retailer of most of these from wev's site-it's so much more fun to figure it out for yourself, I think!

I did not see this one on wev's site, but Jas. P. Barnes is the retailer mark for James P. Barnes of Louisville, KY, 1843-1869.

Also, the mark with the eagle, bust and D is what is known as a pseudo hallmark. The maker is not definitively identified, but it was made in upstate New York some time in the 1830's or 1840's.

I couldn't read it that closely, but one of your spoons looks like it says NASHUA. If that is the mark, then it is likely a mark indicating it was made in Nashua, New Hampshire. Some makers also included a mark with the name of the city or town where they worked (there are even a few who marked their street address).
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