Unknown hallmark silver spoon

[emilybs]

Hi, I found a silver spoon on the floor in my grandmother's attic, and we're trying to figure out where it came from. I am a bit confused because I think I've identified two of the marks – one is a lion which makes it seem like it's British, but another looks like the maker's initial, I-M, which seems to be an American mark, John McMullen. There are another two I haven't been able to find, any help would be much appreciated. She lived in America but was Italian, as was our whole family, so I'm not sure how they would have ended up with British silver. Thanks in advance!

[agphile]

Yes, it is English. From left to right the marks are: date letter (Gothic L for 1766), Leopard's Head crowned for London, lion passant for sterling standard, and IM for an unidentified maker.

[silvermakersmarks]

I·M may be John Muns who, although entered as a largeworker, was probably still working in 1766, but died in 1768. See the topic on Muns in the Grimwade Biographies Updates section.

Phil

[emilybs]

Hi both, thank you very much for the info, that's really really interesting. We are almost positive it's not from anyone in my dad's family (they came to the US in the 20th century with nothing and the best silver they had was silver plate from Sears), but the house is on a farm that has been farmed since the 1600s. We've been finding old bits and bobs in the fields for generations (broken crockery, marbles, old buckles and pieces of harness), so we're pretty sure one of my relatives found the spoon in the field at some point and stuck it in the attic without cleaning it off. I'm glad I saw it had hallmarks, otherwise I'm sure it would have been thrown away, as it was black with tarnish and on the floor. It has an engraving so we're trying to trace it back to one of the families who owned the farm before us, my dad's done a lot of genealogy research, so hopefully we'll be able to guess who brought it or bought it from England. I'll look into John Muns as well, thanks very much for the tip. Glad my mother taught me to always look for hallmarks!

[Traintime]

Any chance the farm site was under threat from invading British forces during the Revolution? Maybe the household silver was removed and buried for protection. Time to get out a shovel?

[emilybs]

You never know, it's a possibility – we are actually in Lexington, MA, where the first battle of the revolution was, and Paul Revere passed the farm by about a tenth of a mile. It would be interesting to know where it was found, we've got 9 acres, so it's anyone's guess. The house was built in the 1930s but my aunt's house, which is next door, is 17th century. We should get out there with a metal detector!