Need !!! HELP !!! with B'ham Markers mark.

[The Gold Guy]

I need a little help. I have a piece of sterling silver (a lid to a small container), stamped on the underside of the lid “Made in England”, that I am unable to pinpoint the silversmith, date and artist. Possibly, if I knew the silversmith and date… that information could lead me to the artist … hypothetically. This piece in particular has (in this order) the makers mark/stamp, assay office town mark/stamp, “Lion” silver quality mark/stamp and “E” mark/stamp corresponding to the date. The silversmith maker’s mark/stamp I believe is either The Cole Brothers or the Clifford Brothers silversmiths (unsure). The next stamp is an “Anchor” assay office mark/stamp which relays that the piece was assayed in Birmingham. Because of the lack of a “Duty” mark/stamp on the piece and that all of the stamps are surrounded with a shield-like shape, the “E” date mark/stamp I believe dates the piece to 1929… but I am unsure. I took the best picture of the artists’ signature I could… It looks like half of the signature has been covered up by the bezel that holds the artwork in. It would great to hear what you all have to say.

Thank you all for your time on this.

[The Gold Guy]

Sorry about the above post... I haven't figured out how to load pictures up... anyone ? ... anyone ?

[dognose]

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

The below should help you:

How to Add Images

Posting Requirements

Embedded images get a far greater response than just posting links.

Remember to use the 'Preview' button before submitting your post

For more information see:

viewtopic.php?f=61&t=37974&p=103282#p103282

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

Trev.

[The Gold Guy]

[The Gold Guy]

Thanks buddy !

[silvermakersmarks]

It's Cole Brothers' mark and 1929/30 is the assay date. Cole Brothers was a London company and may have bought their wares in from manufacturing silversmiths; in this case we can see that their sponsor's mark is overstamped on another which is comprised of 3 side-by-side circles, possibly Wilmot Manufacturing Co of Camden Street, Birmingham.

Phil

[The Gold Guy]

Thanks Phil... but your info. brings me to another question... would the piece already have had the artwork(enameling) placed when the Cole Bros. received their order from their sponsor (in this case possibly... Wilmot Manufacturing Co.) or would Cole Bros. have placed the artwork(enameling) themselves after they had received their order from their sponsor's ? Still trying to find the artists'.

[The Gold Guy]

Hey Phil… I really appreciate you pointing out that the makers mark had been over stamped… but… after studying the piece a little further (although it could be there) I don’t quite see that third circle back there. Never-the-less… two (2) circles or three (3)… after researching a little more I found a few more possibilities (refer to pictures). You are surly correct when you found the over stamp… but… If I could ask… what made you think that Wilmot Manufacturing Co. were the guys? Geez... just when we think it's all figured out...!!! HELP !!!

[silvermakersmarks]

There is quite clearly in your picture a ghost of a third circle to the left of the Cole Brothers mark; it could of course be an artefact of the way the picture has been presented and you have a much better view than we do. Wilmot was just my best guess and I have no hard evidence to back it up.

Phil

[Aguest]

.:::.It is true that certain angles in the taking of pictures tell a partial story or can be misleading, I have encountered this before.:::.
.:::.I have thought certain pieces were overstruck as well, but I they could have been mis-struck; an example from Birmingham comes to mind.:::.





.:::.It is difficult to tell sometimes, a digital photographic image can sometimes be misleading, although rare, it does occur.:::.