Unknown Russian Marks

[Restoration Medic]

Hi Everyone and thanks for allowing me to join your site, I'm just a beginner when it comes to silver but I'm stuck already please see image uploaded and as much help as possible please I can see its 96 Zolodniks so I think that's a great start but no idea of makers mark or Assay office or date any help would be greatly appreciated. The Makers Initials are CIM and the 96 is below what looks like St Basils in Moscow the other mark I can not describe, I have tried to upload an image but for some reason I can't manage it.

Kindest Regards
Ian

[dognose]

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the Forum.

Your question cannot be answered without the required images.

The below should help you:

How to Add Images

Posting Requirements

https://postimages.org (choose 'Share', then copy the 'Hotlink for forums' code) is recommended. Do not use Photobucket or Dropbox.

Ensure your images are embedded. Do not post links. Remember to use the 'Preview' button before submitting your post.

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Give some time to creating your posts and we'll give some time to researching and answering them.

Trev.

[Restoration Medic]

Hi Trev,

Thanks for the answer unfortunately any of the sites used for uploading photos is banned as I'm at work in Africa so I will have to wait until I'm home after Christmas before I can upload a picture of the spoon but I bought it anyway so its legally mine now what ever it is but I thing just the fact that it has a 96 Zolodnik stamp is a step in the right direction and would possibly indicate that it is very early!

Kindest Regards
Ian

[Qrt.S]

I'm afraid the the step is in the wrong direction. You see a 96 zol. mark would indicate that your spoon is 100% silver. That is close to impossible. A fineness of 91 at the most would be acceptable with some doubts. 96 indicates something totally different of what you might think. Is the "CIM" Latin or Cyrillic letters? Please recheck the fineness mark and as well as the maker's mark.

[Restoration Medic]

Hi Thank you for your answer, I suppose the only thing I can do is show you by giving you a link to the item I purchased but as the write up on this site clearly states that Perter the great enforced 4 categories for the production of silver in 1700 being 96, 90, 84 and 62 I'm very much hoping this is a very early spoon, as the design would indicate.

(admin edit - see Posting Requirements )

so here we go this is it.

Kindest Regards
Ian

[Restoration Medic]

Hi All,

I also note that there is not a single example of either a 90 or 96 Zolodniki date mark on the site or anything dated from the 1700's in fact the earliest date is 1813 so I'm assuming that 18th century examples are extremely rare and very little is known about them or there would be illustrations of them on this site.

Kindest Regards
Ian

[AG2012]

Hi,
I have embedded the image of your marks.
It is Danish,not Russian.
Three towers of Copenhagen and number 96 indicating year of production 1896.
The assayer was Simon Groth (1863 - 1904).
CIM stands for C.I.Moinichen who worked in Copenhagen 1893 - 1937.
And last but not least,do not trust sellers,particularly with Russian silver being much sought for and faked.
Regards

[Qrt.S]

@Ian

Perter the great enforced 4 categories for the production of silver in 1700 being 96, 90, 84 and 62 I'm very much hoping this is a very early spoon.

so here we go this is it.

No, it is not at all "it", not even close. As you can see from AG2012's input, your spoon is not Russian and not even particularly old either. I wrote in my first input that the "96" indicates something else. It did, didn't it? It indicated a year mark.
FYI!
Of course there is 96 zolotnik (100%) silver, but as bullion only. Nothing is made of it because it is not workable being too soft. The bullion is melted and alloyed with another metal, usually copper. It is called work silver and the fineness varies from 800~925/1000 (76,8-92/96 zolotniki) very seldom higher fineness but never 100%.

If it has been sold to you as Russian made, it is typical example of how sellers, even prominent ones, on purpose deceive buyers who know nothing about silver marks. Never buy silver if you don't know what you are buying. Take AG2012 good advice!

[AG2012]

Hello again,
I forgot to mention Qrt.S and quote him in regard of 96 being very suspicious even before we saw the image of your marks.
When we started collecting silver there was no internet,at least not for me,and we had to rely on books.
I would suggest to start with International Hallmarks on Silver Collected by Tardy. It is very good starting point.
The knowledge accumulates over years and fortunately one does not make too many expensive mistakes during the process of learning.
Regards

[Restoration Medic]

Dear All,

Thank you for your incredible knowledge fortunately I have not spent a fortune on the item as you can clearly see, I have only bought 3 silver spoons so far the other 2 being well marked and documented correctly as I researched on this site all at reasonable prices as presents for my wife this Christmas as she is Georgian and speaks and reads Russian I decided to go down this route as a tribute to her heritage and because she fell in love with a silver spoon last year which was a present for a friend.
I understand that this is a learning process but one I will pick up along the way especially as I happen to be a furniture Antiques Restorer and to be honest have never made a loss on a single item in 30 years. This was a punt I grant you but as its not what it seems I will be far more careful in the future, It will still go very nicely in to her collection or she can use it for her coffee!! lol I was looking forward to popping it in to "Christies Auction" but alas that was not to be! I'd like to say a special thanks to AG2012 for your fantastic assessment, especially to have written this info on Christmas day!! I will add it to my assessments list for her. I wish all the members of this forum A Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year!! Your assistance has been invaluable. I hope you all find that special piece we all are looking for!!

Kindest Regards
Ian

[Qrt.S]

@Ian,
In addition to what AG2012 already mentioned, read these sites, especially if you have particular interest in Russian silver: https://www.925-1000.com/Frussia.html

As to books, there are many, some of them good, some not so good. Anyway, here is another to start with: World Hallmarks Vol 1-. The author is Hallmark Research Institute. It has some inconsistencies and unfortunately also some "misunderstandings (errors)", but almost all books have it.
Enjoy the researching.