These 3 spoons appear to be in the 1790 style outlined in the Kovel's spoon style guide. They weigh 38g (total) and I've laid them out to show a top, side, and bottom view:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgemo/8489980292/
Here is a closeup of the hallmarks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgemo/8489982862/
First appears to be a lion passant (sterling).
Second should be a city mark, right? But this one doesn't have one.
Instead, next is the date letter. It's a "U" that matches the 1795 London date mark. (Or does it? Like I said, I'm new to this).
Third is the Duty Mark. It appears to be King George III to me, which would also match the 1795 attribution. Is there an easy way to tell George III & George IV apart? It seems like the marks for III are more oval and IV are more round, but I could be totally off base on that.
Fourth is what I assume is the Silversmith's Maker's Mark. It appears to be RC in an oval, followed by a dot. The silversmith's registered with variations of RC don't quite match.
I found the following possibilities:
R.C (Robert Cox [ L ] ) 18th c./2nd half
RC into an oval (Robert Calderwood [ D ] ) 18th c./1st half
RC (Robert Clark [ E ] ) 18th c./2nd half
RC in script (Richard Clark [ Y ] ) 18th c./2nd half
RC (Robert Cattle [ Y ]) 19th c./1st half
RC (Richard Crossley [ L ] ) end 18th c./beginning 19th c.
RC (R Chawner [ L ] ) end 18th c./beginning 19th c.
R.C into two conjoined ovals (Richard Cooke [ L ] ) entered 1799
R.C into an oval (Robert Chandler [ B ] ) beginning 20th c.
RC over a dot into a shield (Richard Comyns [ L ] ) 20th c.
RC into a hexagon (R. Carr Ltd [ B ][ E ][S ] ) end 20th c.
RC over GS (Richard Crosley & George Smith IV [ L ] ) end 18th c./beginning 19th c.
RC over JB (Robert Cattle & James Barber [ Y ]) 19th c./1st half
Robert Calderwood (RC) seems like the closest match... but I don't feel confident about that attribution. Is it possible that Richard Crosley or Robert Cattle would have had unregistered marks of their own before joining into their partnerships? What do you think?
http://www.silvercollection.it/englishs ... rksXR.html
What really confuses me is the lack of a city mark. Maybe it's just that silversmith's are generally organized based on their assay city in the reference materials, but this lack is throwing me for a loop. What does this mean?
