Sheffield (?) Pseudos..Crown & More

[Traintime]

On 13" dressing spoon in plain bead pattern with defined drop. Seems we have seen this set before, but nearly impossible to describe it for searching. Gothic "A" off to left. Defined gothic "S" implying Sheffield (if not maker). Crown appears in two different marks...perhaps American if after 1896.

[Essexboy Fisher]

Hello, these have got to be pre 1896 British marks. You can find examples at every other auction, where you look at mixed lots of antique cutlery, as I regularly do. The "Americans" would have much less need to display the "crab" like mark that I feel was a pseudo mark designed to look like the British lion passant silver guarantee mark.This mark and the crown were surely to confuse the new Victorian British rich.
Fishless