I was hoping maybe anyone could confirm or not what I have written about this spoon I've just acquired ( please see below ).
Possibly a christening spoon which has GALUS dot-engraved in the centre of the bowl ( ? GALUS is the name of someone/the infant ). On one side of the inner bowl there is '12.' in a box and opposite it, on the other side of the bowl, there is an 'M' and an 'N' on either side of a rose in another box. The stem is mainly decorated with a series of dots and dashes on both sides. The finial is I think a cathedral and gives the spoon a souvenir-type look. However there is evidence that the the finial and spoon are disparate and could’ve been soldered to one another. The actual top of the stem of the spoon — between the stem end and where the base of the finial is joined to it — is a very nice splayed design, like a fishtail. The spoon would look better without the finial! The metal of the finial looks, sounds and feels different to the rest of the spoon. The rest of the spoon has a nice silver look and where the word GALUS is engraved there is not a different metal revealed, as maybe would happen on plate. There is also evidence of gilding on the stem on both sides. My view is that the finial is plate and has been soldered onto an older solid silver spoon ( from the photo there is excess solder at the join ). From research on here I gather the mark 12. is seen on German silver where the LOT system was used prior to 1886, where 12 LOT = .750 parts silver. So in theory the spoon could be an item from before 1886, which would be fab! Could the rose with the M and N on either side possibly be a town mark or maker’s mark? I can't find this mark in the German section on here.
Many thanks if you can help,
Greg.
