Folding hinged spoon "Made in Italy" 800

[mccynth]

Can anyone tell me anything about this folding spoon? It says 800 and Made in Italy. There is a crest of some sort on the top - maybe an Italian city or province ? Cherub, keys...

The spoon is teaspoon size -- and the handle is about 1.5 inches.

Photos included.

Thank you!

Cynthia



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[Robin Lous]

The coat of arms is the Papal or Vatican city CoA.
800 must be the silver purity mark.
Because of the "Made in Italy" the spoon is most likely from the 50s or later and made for commercial purposes.

I don't have a clue why it's a folding spoon.

Robin
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[mccynth]

Hi Robin

Thank you so much for this info.

I actually have done a little more research and this is what I came across:

- That the folding feature is because it is called a "medicine spoon"
- And that the 800 is because that was the sterling mark for items made in Italy in the first part of the 20th century

Does this sound reasonable / accurate to you? Or to any other interested readers?

Thanks very much again for your reply.

Cynthia
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[admin]

Funny, while you were writing this, I was adding "medicine spoon" to the Silver Glossary
Your example has been cut down and had the end repolished, here is an example of how it once looked.
http://www.phisick.com/a6mfs.htm

Regards, Tom
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[dognose]

Hi Cynthia,
Just to be accurate the 800 is the purity i.e. 800/1000. Sterling is always 925/1000.
Regards Trev.
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