Silver beaker need help to id

[niceguy1]

HI ALL

Who would be the maker of this silver artisan beaker?

It’s engraved G u 100% u.s.a.
I believe I have seen this mark discussed here somewhere but I can’t find it.

THANKS ALOT

[davidross]

THAILAND

[niceguy1]

Thanks David.

then why is it marked u.s.a.? when abouts was this made?

[WarrenKundis]

Good morning,

It appears to have been produced around the 1960s to early 70s during the Vietnam war to be sold to American GIs, ie; an export item. My father was in Vietnam, saw a great deal of this sold in the Air Force and Navy PX post exchanges at Clark AFB, Subic Bay Naval Base, Hickam, and Pearl Habor. I'm sure David can offer more insight.

Warren

[davidross]

Out of pity for an object so terribly misunderstood, I believe the top line says "Silver 100%" in Thai, not American, writing!

เงิน = "Sterling Silver" (in Thai)

While I do not read Thai, I believe that the second line of writing on the beaker's bottom is also in that language, tho I concede that those who truly want to will see "USA" branded everywhere they look.

Cheers
DR

[WarrenKundis]

Hiding in plain sight. don't believe I'm one of those but if your not really looking at it does appear to be poorly written English.

Seriously though my parent's as well as other service families homes contained jewelry, pottery, furniture and other decorative items from all over South East Asia. Every PX and BX had a large selection.

Thank you David

[niceguy1]

Thanks David & Warren for the info.

It appears to be hand chased.

[davidross]

Hi Warren,

No, I don't think you are one of those, either! And I don't doubt that your father encountered many things like this for sale during his tour of duty in the Far East in the 60s or 70s. Besides, I have heard that many GIs had R and R in Thailand during the Vietnam War, so it is quite plausible that military personnel brought home objects like this. The PXs in Japan from 1945 down to the present have always had many such treasures for sale. Particularly in the immediate postwar, Japanese curio shops competed for the GI dollar.

That said, my impression is that the majority of Thai export silver from the 1940s onward was marked "Siam," "Thailand," "Silver," etc, as I believe has been established in earlier posts. This particular piece may have been marked for the local market and still marketed to the GI or tourist trade. In my opinion, we should also note that over the past two centuries, the traditional designs and manufacturing techniques of this region of SE Asia (Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand) have only changed in very subtle ways---ways that probably are nearly invisible to the untrained eye (I would put myself in this class). This is an area of silver collecting that really warrants more investigation, unfortunately hampered by the general lack of purity standards and marks.

Best regards,

David

[kjennings12]

I think the bottom mark which looks like u5u is a Thai weight measurement, the Baht, which equals 15 grams. So, if it is 5 baht it should be close to 75 grams.

Keith

[kjennings12]

Sorry, it is ounces, so u5u would be 2 1/2 ounces...

[Ag999]

top: 100% silver
lower: weight 5 baht ("weight" and "baht" are abbreviated)
one baht weight is 15 gm, thus 2.5oz