Marks don't seem to "jive"...

[DrBlingDaddy]

Hello, as you can see this matchstick case was made of sterling silver in Chester by Rolason Brothers in 1728. But they are listed as Birmingham makers starting in 1887 (not noted with a registration date). Could this be a new find, or a horrible forgery?


https://ibb.co/CnBTfBc

[AG2012]

Hi,
There is no mystery here; vesta case was made by Rolason Brothers in Chester (registered 1901) and letter c is date letter for 1903.
Regards

[AG2012]

Friction matches were invented in 19th century.

[DrBlingDaddy]

Hi,
There is no mystery here; vesta case was made by Rolason Brothers in Chester (registered 1901) and letter c is date letter for 1903.
Regards

Thanks for your reply. I guess since the "C" is so similar and the "border" around it on this piece resembles 1728 much more than the 1903, I was confused. Thanks again for the clarification.

[silvermakersmarks]

You need to look at the full hallmark, not just the date letter, then you will see that there is a distinct difference between the two date letter cycles.

It may be disloyal of me, but the British date letter charts on our site here are not particularly good. They only show the date letters, omitting the rest of the hallmark; they leave out most 20th century dates; and there is at least one error (in the Birmingham chart).

Phil