Help with Gorham coin mark.

[WhiteKnight]

Anyone know when this mark was used by Gorham? I found this on some coin salts.
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[admin]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
Sorry, but your salts are silverplate. not coin silver. The information you are looking for can be found under Gorham at
American Marks 4
Gorhams coin & sterling marks can be found at
Gorham Marks & Date Codes

and please, read the Guidelines
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[WhiteKnight]

Was given pic from friend who says he can't connect. to forum Was sold salt and told it was coin silver. Didn't check mark for silverplate.
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[WhiteKnight]

Had professional appraisal done on item. Item is silver not plate. The administrator needs to be sure of his info before moving posts. Mark on this item was used 1853 by Gorham on sterling at the same time they were using coin silver. Mark shown on 925-1000 is much later. Cited Gorhams own records. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
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[Waylander]

While I agree that the date is right, I am very puzzled by, if it was Sterling, why was it not marked "Sterling" (or "Coin" for that matter). In my experience, a pretty good rule of thumb is if doesn't have the Lion Passant, or it doesn't say sterling or have a silver purity mark such as 925, 835 or 800, or if it doesn't have appropriate hallmarks then it is not likely going to be silver, especially on a larger item. Manufacturers and individual silversmiths have always gone to great lengths to ensure everything they make of silver is clearly marked as such since they charge large premiums for it. Customers have always been fanatical about it as well since they have always wanted to be very, very sure they are getting what they paid for. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb but they are few and far between.
Perhaps your "appraiser" may be kind enough to answer this.

Waylander
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[WhiteKnight]

Appraiser is Bruce L. Taylor AOA. On consignment from whatitsworthtou.com. Online appraisal association. He sighted Gorhams records from the period. Apparently Gorham kept extensive records including employee time and material costs which he refered to. Also around the same time Gorham used a mark of Gorham & Co. with out any symbols that was used exclusively for coin silver but was not marked coin. I have found this mark at http://www.silvercollecting.com. There even seems to be a mark used for coin that looked similar to the Spanish star hallmark. The only reason I can think of is possibly these items were made for export and were ment to be marked with the countries assay mark upon arrival. The appraiser had high resolution photo's of the hallmarks which are quite clear and of the items themselves from all angles. He says in his report that he transfered the hallmarks to transparentcies and enlarged them. I also found a similar mark on a piece on eBay that is not marked with silver content but was acid tested and found to be "greater than 900" Your guess is as good as mine as to why there is not a silver content mark.
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[admin]

Dear Whiteknight,

I'm afraid Mr. Taylor has misinformed you. It is true that Gorham kept extensive records and their archives encompass a great deal of information. Charles H. Carpenter Jr. spent many years researching the archives before writing his definitive "Gorham Silver; 1831-1981". The book includes the most comprehensive list of Gorham marks ever published and does include yours in the Silverplate marks.

I have found this mark at http://www.silvercollecting.com.

You are correct that http://www.silvercollecting.com illustrates the same mark, but if you read the accompanying text, you'll note that they also indicate that it is a silverplate mark

Mark on this item was used 1853 by Gorham on sterling at the same time they were using coin silver. Mark shown on 925-1000 is much later. Cited Gorhams own records. THANK YOU VERY MUCH

If you look at the mark on your piece, you'll see that it includes "G MFG CO", the abbreviation for Gorham Manufacturing Company. Gorham did not incorporate under this name until 1865, prior to that year, they were Gorham & Co. Any mark that includes "G MFG CO" is therefore post-1865 production and obviously could not date from 1853. Your appraisal report has some inconsistencies. Is it possible to find out from exactly what in the Gorham archives your appraiser is quoting?

Your guess is as good as mine as to why there is not a silver content mark.

It was not uncommon for Gorham to leave out a standard mark on their coin silver items. As the "Lion, Anchor, G" was reserved for their solid silver pieces. According to Carpenter, the Lion (borrowed from English hallmark symbolism) was meant to indicate solid silver, coin before 1868 and sterling afterwards. This is one of the main reasons they had a different trademark (solitary anchor) to indicate plated ware.

The administrator needs to be sure of his info before moving posts.

Well, I try to, as do many others here. The only philosophy behind this forum is to expand the knowledge of silver, simply because it is a subject we all care about. That is why it is free and also why we strive to be as accurate as our resources allow. I will be moving this topic to silverplate, but for now it will stay here to allow for others to post their research finds.

Best Regards, Tom (admin)
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[nobilityhouse]

I've just acquired my first, what I believe to be, Gorham coin silver open salt. So naturally I came to this page wanting to know more about the marks. After reading through the posts, I can only say that the owner got an online appraisal and not an in-person silver test. It must be done scientifically or the appraisal doesn't carry much weight. I have to side with Tom the Admin on his position.

[Aguest]

Serving Spoon marked "GORHAM & CO" and "PURE COIN" an uncommon hallmark possibly scarce?

[Aguest]

Possibly Gorham & Co. bought this spoon from William Gale & Sons because it is consistent with Gale's "Fiddle Thread" pattern )_+_(

[Aguest]

The above hallmark would be an example of Gorham's coin silver from 1853-1865 approximately, marked "GORHAM & CO." and "PURE COIN" ::: I have seen other coin silver hallmarks used by Gorham over the years, but this is the first time I have ever seen this specific hallmark with the "PURE COIN" addendum :::