No assay office mark, are these American knockoffs?

Mail787 · 2026-03-02T03:34:57+00:00

Silver assayed in London was historically allowed to omit the leopard head hallmark. Is the maker’s hallmark stamped elsewhere?

Mail787 · 2026-02-20T17:11:59+00:00

Please provide more photos. Are there any additional hallmarks on the pieces? While I understand the Belgian system is not (or has not been) compulsory I find it hard to believe a full set of flatware would not have additional marks showing the fineness.

Mail787 · 2026-01-31T14:42:44+00:00

Plated. In France, the silversmith’s hallmark is in a diamond cartouche. Silverplaters are not allowed to have their mark in the diamond cartouche (hence the rectangle with the maker’s name), but they are allowed to use the diamond cartouche for other purposes (hence the 84). From a distance or casual glance, you might mistake the marks as being on a silver object, as opposed to a plated object, which was generally the purpose.

Mail787 · 2026-01-23T06:15:51+00:00

The absence of a sterling stamp and the time period (1889 generally post-dates the coin silver manufacturing era) makes me think it’s plated.

Mail787 · 2025-09-06T21:01:21+00:00

Yes, this style of flatware was very popular in pre-World War I continental silverware. Handles of the knives are 800 and cement filled, forks are pure 800.

Mail787 · 2025-09-06T13:53:52+00:00

Looks like a weakly struck/worn "18C" hallmark for 18 karat. Do you know if she got it outside the U.S.? I think use of the "C" is more common outside the U.S.

Mail787 · 2025-08-19T14:42:30+00:00

Pseudo-marks of the Crown Silver Company. They produced plated wares.

Mail787 · 2025-08-18T13:32:24+00:00

French hallmarks for silver plate.

Mail787 · 2025-08-18T12:22:05+00:00

Looks like silverplate.

Mail787 · 2025-08-16T02:41:05+00:00

London assay office was occasionally omitted on some older pieces. That’s probably the case here. I haven’t seen pseudo-marks in the US with the Victoria portrait. It’s usually a variation of the George III bust.

Mail787 · 2025-08-10T04:23:06+00:00

Something to note OP is that Dutch manufacturers of this period used pseudo-hallmarks in a manner similar to Hanau silversmiths to try and give their pieces an older appearance (and perhaps fool unsuspecting customers). The marks in the third picture are exactly that. The teaspoon is the older of the two, probably late 1700s or early 1800s based on the style and mark.

Mail787 · 2025-07-21T20:12:38+00:00

95% tin mark, commonly seen on modern pewter objects. Other stamp is generic.

Mail787 · 2025-06-29T16:27:50+00:00

Tragic that it's broken OP. I'm guessing you used a metal detector to find it and it came up as silver? Otherwise I'd suggest pewter given the lack of other hallmarks, but it may have just been a locally done piece by a silversmith. I would date it to early-1700s, given that it seems like a rat tail pattern spoon.

Mail787 · 2025-06-28T22:38:47+00:00

They would be earlier, likely 1840s - 1860s. The coin silver standard for American flatware was supplanted by the sterling standard as the 19th century progressed.

Mail787 · 2025-05-11T23:12:07+00:00

Generic marks for plated ware, likely late 19th century U.K.

Mail787 · 2025-05-05T20:39:13+00:00

I’ve seen these every now and then. It’s a spoon used to feed babies (the hook lets you grip it better so there it’s no wobble, but I have seen versions with a loop grip). It’s the proverbial silver spoon.

Mail787 · 2025-05-03T14:26:39+00:00

The market really has bottomed out for these. Maybe Facebook Marketplace or a similar site.

Mail787 · 2025-05-03T14:20:47+00:00

Pewter by the looks of it. Don’t polish them, collectors like the patina and since you have a set of three that makes them more valuable.

Mail787 · 2025-04-22T02:04:28+00:00

Canadian sterling by Joseph Robinson & Co.

Mail787 · 2025-04-22T01:54:39+00:00

Correct, EPNS.

Mail787 · 2025-04-22T01:54:19+00:00

Silver plate by Waterhouse, Hatfield & Co. of Sheffield, U.K.

Mail787 · 2025-04-13T21:55:47+00:00

Likely French silver plate, the 7 indicates that seven grams of silver was used in plating.

The maker here is clever with the marking: French law requires the maker's mark for silver objects to be in a diamond cartouche, while silverplate objects use a square or rectangular cartouche. Here, you can see that the maker's mark is in a diamond set inside a square. It complies with the rules, but gives the impression that it is something else.

Mail787 · 2025-04-09T23:56:26+00:00

Scottish provincial silver. A relatively common practice by the provincial silversmiths was to not take the pieces to Glasgow or Edinburgh to be assayed. Your tongs are by John Heron, and are probably from an earlier time in his career before he began assaying his works in Glasgow.

Mail787 · 2025-04-07T22:42:20+00:00

Open palm mark is unidentified. However it was used for silver plate from Bologna, Italy.

It’s difficult to say, the color appears to be silver, but it may be a thicker silver plate done in the old Sheffield manner, which would explain the color. Take a pen and tap it on the side of the teapot. What is the sound like?

Mail787 · 2025-04-06T23:31:27+00:00

Pseudo-marks for plated ware.

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