Only one discharge mark on French spoon 17th-C?

[gemspring]

This old sterling silver spoon bears just one mark, which I believe to be either an early Paris mark of discharge or a slightly later mark of discharge gratis. I am unsure about this, though, and wondering why there would only be the one mark? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ginger

[JayT]

No, this isn’t a French discharge mark. First, it is too large, and second, the placement is wrong. Marks on a pre-Revolutionary spoon would be on the back of the stem, not the front of the spatula. Third, it doesn’t make sense to have a discharge mark alone - indicating a tax obligation had been discharged - without a charge mark, as well as other marks.
Just as a side note, French silver was not sterling standard (925/1000) until 1972.
Sorry, can’t help you more than this.

[legrandmogol]

The spoon is very French in style so I would consider looking at countries that border France and had strong French influences. The mark kind of looks like a crown. I would throw a wild guess that it is Spanish. But this is only a guess. I am not near my books till possibly tomorrow.

[legrandmogol]

I checked "Marcas de la Plata - Espanola y Virreinal" and the mark looks to me like the mark used in 18th century Guatemala

[legrandmogol]

So I believe you have a lovely piece of Spanish colonial silver. Your spoon is definitely not 17th century though based on its style.

[legrandmogol]

here is a picture of the marks in the book I mentioned

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[gemspring]

Thank you, legrandmogol, for the very helpful investigation into this spoon. Spanish Colonial sounds promising! I will go a bit deeper into research around that tip.

Much appreciated!