Who made this apostle spoon?

[techsol]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me who the maker of this apostle spoon is? The London town mark and lion passant are still recognisable, there is only part of the makers mark visible and as for the date mark that is either completely gone or was never struck.

Many Thanks

Martin.

[dognose]

Hi Martin,

Nice find. That would be Lawrence Coles.

Trev.

[techsol]

Many thanks Trev.

Martin.

[agphile]

Apologies for coming in late with some wet-blanket worries.

For apostle spoons the leopard’s head mark is struck in the bowl. I suppose there might be an exception for a very late example like this, but it is not something I have come across before.

Not fair to judge on the basis of a single photo that does not focus on key diagnostic points, but the bowl and stem shape are not quite what I might expect with a late apostle spoon.

The absence of a date letter might suggest it disappeared as a result of some reshaping and the later addition of an apostle finial.

Hanoverian spoons reshaped as apostle spoons are all too common. Might this possibly be a much rarer example of a trefid spoon similarly reshaped?

David