Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
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
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.
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.
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.