Hallmark erasures

[Granmaa]

This butter knife with mother of pearl handle was made in Birmingham in 1818; oddly, the hallmarks have had zigzags engraved over them. Does anyone know who might have done this and why?
I'd also appreciate some help on the maker's mark which has S as the last initial.

Miles

[Doos]

Hi,

There are many possibilities.
When I was an apprentice, I needed to do something similar for Christie's. A guy was putting silver dishes up for auction and didn't want his family to know. They asked us if we could do something with the engraved family crests.
Instead of erasing the crests, I made silver cartouches that we glued over them.

[Granmaa]

That's interesting, but it can't really explain this knife. For one, it's still possible to identify the hallmarks. Also, why isn't the maker's mark erased.
Is it possible that the maker took them to be marked, and then found he couldn't pay the fees, so the appropriate marks had to be erased? This would explain why the maker's mark wasn't touched.

Miles

[nigel le sueur]

Hi Miles

John Shaw 1803-1825 ?

Regards

Nigel

[Granmaa]

It could well be Nigel; do you know if he had a pellet in one of his marks as seems to be the case here?

Miles

[buckler]

Sometimes in the 18th and early nineteenth centuries you find buckles with the makers mark obliterated, probably when sold via a retailer who did not have a registered mark. I have encounted one deliberate erasure of a Lion Passant, where the buckles had copper ornanamentation added post marking.
I am a loss to explain this one though. As suggested it seems to have been done by the Assay Office themselves.
It is now, and I think has always been a criminal offence alter or deface any assay marking.
Interesting case