Postby blakstone » Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:25 am
The general form of this mark - circular, with initials and a device - is consistent with 19th century Northern Italian maker's marks in the Kingdom of Lombardy—Venetia. So, on a hunch, I checked and sure enough this appears to be the maker's mark of Luca Franceschini of Milan, active ca. 1838-1864. Odd, because there should also be two other marks - a standard/guarantee mark and an assay office mark. Very curious.
Ref: Vittorio Donaver & Roberto Dabbene, Argenti Italiani dell'800, v. II: Punzoni di Argentieri Italiani (Milan: San Gottardo, 1989), p. 193, mark 1227.