Posted 12 months ago
EXCALIBER12
(1 item)
I have a set of these tea sippers but do not understand where these marking are from. i was told they are american but as i see it there is a picture of the queens crown on it.
-
Fashion
Fashion Categories
Breaking Vintage News
-
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
Adrift in a sea of digital apps for every imaginable function, we often feel our needs are met better today than in any previous era. But consider the chatelaine, a device popularized in the 18th century that attached to the waist of a wo…
-
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
The mysterious packages kept arriving, some from eBay, others from the Home …
-
-
Design
Design Categories
Breaking Vintage News
-
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
The meerschaum pipes carved in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century are among the most bizarre and improbable concoctions in decorative art. Some feature …
-
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
While researching her book, "Killer Stuff and Tons of Money," Maureen Stanton came across all sorts of characters. For years, she shadowed her antiques-dealer friend …
-
-
Machines
Machines Categories
Breaking Vintage News
-
Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
We tend to think of the union of vanity and technology as a particularly modern affliction. It's only recently that science brought the world botox and collagen injections, skin peels, liposucti…
-
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Vintage kites from all over the world hang from the ceiling and walls of Richard Dermer’s popula…
-
-
Culture
Culture Categories
Breaking Vintage News
-
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
It’s easy to think of pin-up art as a charming relic of the old boys’ club—images that might line the walls …
-
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
It’s not unusual for men of a certain age to have a soft spot in their hearts for the look of vintage guitars and the sound…
-
-
Collectibles
Collectibles Categories
Breaking Vintage News
-
Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
A keepsake, an item that recognizes a loved one, strikes a deep, sentimental chord in each of us—particularly that of a sweetheart. The popularity of keepsakes grew in the United States during the period from 1917 to 1919 as our country ent…
-
American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes
I was walking to school one day and saw all these bikes in the garbage. I was just amazed because I didn't have one and I found it incredible that anyone was throwing them out. So I gathered…
-
Sterling Silver SpoonsAs the oldest type of flatware, spoons have existed in some form or another…
The marks are pretty hard to see in detail.. lord knows they are a pain to try to photograph! Most of the silver I'm familiar with is British. From what I can tell, I would say they are British. This is only from what I 'think' the markings are. The crown would be for Sheffield, what looks like the letter "W"would be the 1914 year stamp, and the lion passant would be the sterling mark. Since it doesn't have the duty mark of the king or queen that was used 1784 - 1890 you can tell it was not during that period. British colonies silversmiths used something referred to as pseudo hallmarks that didn't really mean much of anything other than certain ones were used regularly by certain silversmiths. If you could make out the date letter and see if it fits for a 1914 (or perhaps another) year letter on Sheffield silver, you can at least tell if it was British or not. Look around this site and see if anything looks like what you have on yours.
http://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilverhallmarks.html
If there isn't a letter that matches yours from the era that doesn't include the duty stamp, it's from somewhere else. Sorry I'm not much help with older American silver. :-( Good luck in your research!
No you helped out a lot. I can put all the pieces together from here.
THANK YOU
I can see the marks better now the first one is a crown but with more of a loop than the normal squared off. the second mark is a sheild with 4 squares in it and the last mark that i thought was an a is a lion
Lion (.925 silver) with the crown would be Sheffield, England.
Interesting fact I found by taking a quick look
Wallace silversmith makes the identical tea sippers. Wallace is an American manufacturer of sterling silver flatware that opened in the early 1800's. There is or was a line called Wallace of Sheffield so the mark might of came from that line.
Meaning those marks are pseudo marks (have no meaning/ fake). This was popular between late 1800s to early 1900s. This really doesn't mean much since back then America was making comparable silver wear. It might of been to give it recognition. You will find that Wallace makes some beautiful pieces.
Here is a sale of a set of Wallace tea sippers. The 4th pic will have your marks. They state there from 1940s. I assume you could contact Wallace to find out though.
http://www.rubylane.com/item/694606.../Iced-Tea-Straw-Spoons-Hearts.
Here is an article on pseudo marks, which helped me a while back on being stuck on certain marks that didn't make sense.
http://www.marks4antiques.com/pseudo-marks-on-antique-silver.htm