Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20200726-02   $75.00

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Offered is a lovely set of six American coin silver teaspoons by Providence silversmith Christopher Burr (b. 1787 - d. 1884), working alone from 1818 through at least 1850 as a silversmith and jeweler. These spoons are fairly early, circa 1818-30. Each has a clear maker's mark as well as a period engraved script "MM" monogram. These spoons measure about 5 3/8 inches in length, and the set weighs about 53 grams altogether. Condition is good overall, though the spoons have minor bends and... Click for details

Old Friends  
4241f   This item is currently being auctioned

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Matching, each of these two spoons measures 5 1/8" long. They weigh approximately .7 T. oz. combined.

They are stamped "T. Sargeant" for Thomas, 1773-1834, who worked in Springfield, Massachusetts, 1795-1821. He took over the business of Jacob Sargeant, either Thomas's father or brother, when he moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1795 (Flynt and Fales The Heritage Foundation Collection of Silver).

Slender and fiddle shaped, these have rounded and slightly down turned handles with... Click for details

Old Friends  
4231f   $195.00

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A significant name among New York City silversmiths of the first half of the 19th century, examples of William Thomson's work are held in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of the City of New York, and Winterthur.

This piece, marked "W.Thomson" on the inside of one leg, is a 6 1/2" long, weighty at 1.9 T. oz., pair of tongs.

They are in a(n English) "Kings" pattern and have shell grips.

The 7/8" wide arch is engraved in an elegant, feathered... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20191005-05   $27.50

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Offered is a very good early American coin silver teaspoon by noted Philadelphia silversmith Edward Lownes - by style and shape, this should date to around 1820. This piece has a rubbed but legible maker's mark, and a very fine period engraved script monogram. Please take a look at all of the pictures. This spoon measures about 6 1/2 inches in length and weighs about 24 grams. Condition is very good overall, with modest surface wear and a few sings of use, but no major dings and no splits or... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20190716-01  

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This piece is not currently for sale, but if you can solve its mystery mark with a definitive (or at least very strong) attribution, I'll offer you your choice of either $10 off your next order, or a free coin silver spoon in good condition!

This pair of feather-edge sugar tongs are marked once inside the bow with a maker's mark that appears to be IVB conjoined, but could be MB or NB conjoined. Please click on the first photo to scroll through all the pictures. The tongs appear to be... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
NFS  

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This piece is not for sale, but help me solve the mystery of who made this piece, and I will send you a very nice coin silver spoon in thanks! These twist-arm American coin silver sugar tongs measure about 7 1/8 inches in length and weigh about 49 grams. The maker's mark is a fairly crude SR in a serrated punch. Please take a look at all the pictures. The engraved arms and circular reserve might indicate a Western Pennsylvania or Midwestern, or perhaps Shenandoah Valley origin, but so far... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2307   Sold

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with short back midrid (a/k/a reverse fiddle tip't), pointed chamfered shoulders and a pronounced "flat" at leading edge, length 9 inches, weight 2.23 Troy ounces, monogrammed as shown. There is a small imperfection on back of bowl (see third photo) but otherwise fine condition.

We often speak of the "hallmarks" on American silver, but it is worth noting that very few pieces are actually hallmarked. This one bears the Baltimore assay office stamps commonly associated with 1824.

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-08   $27.50

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Offered is a good early American coin silver teaspoon by noted Philadelphia silversmith William Seal, born and perhaps trained in Virginia but known to be working alone and in partnership in Philadelphia between 1810 and 1822. He lived until 1853 but the style of his silver does not post-date about 1820. This piece is in good condition overall, with moderate wear and no dents, splits or repairs. It is nicely engraved with a period script monogram and has a legible maker's mark as well as... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180107-01   $95.00

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Offered is a nice pair of late 18th Century American coin silver sugar tongs marked only with a maker's mark of S.B - a mark given in Belden's "American Silversmiths" to Col. Standish Barry of Baltimore, MD. See Belden, page 49, mark d. for Barry. The strength of the attribution to Barry in Belden is based on stylistic similarities to known Belden work, and the relatively small number of potential craftsmen with the right initials working in the right time period. In any event, these sugar... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-17   $125.00

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Offered is a nice pair of 18th Century silver sugar tongs dating by style to the 1760s or early 1770s, bearing only a maker's mark of T.H in a rectangle. This maker's mark is fairly crude and doesn't look like a British mark, but the proportions of this pair of tongs look more British than American to me. So, are these tongs British, and dodge paying duty? Were they perhaps made provincially within the UK proper, far away from an assay office? Could they be from somewhere else in the Empire,... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20180106-16   $65.00

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Offered is an interesting early American coin silver teaspoon or coffee spoon that by style appears to date to the 1750-70 timeframe; the maker's mark ends with an "E" that looks an awful lot like one of Samuel Edwards' marks, but I can't make out the first letter. The outline of the mark is right for Samuel Edwards as well, but the drop on the spoon is different from those I've seen used by Edwards. So, probably a different maker. Does anyone have a theory? This piece is engraved with block... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20171227-01   NOT FOR SALE

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For your consideration is an interesting late 18th Century style American coin silver spoon, marked "W (pellet) D". It is my assumption at least that this piece, which measures about 4 15/16 inches in length and weighs about 8 grams, is American. It does not feel Canadian or British Colonial to me, nor does it come across as Continental. The light weight, unusual shell-back decoration, small bowl size, mark and engraving to the handle indicate to me that it is probably American and quite... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20170714-02   $67.50

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Offered is a fine pair of early American coin silver sugar tongs by noted Philadelphia silversmith Joseph Anthony, who worked in that city from 1783-1809 on his own and from 1810-14 with his sons. This pair of tongs by style should date to about 1805-09 but could be a bit earlier. The maker's mark is one of Joseph Anthony's working alone, so this piece likely dates to no later than 1809. The maker's mark (see pics) is lightly struck, as is the case with most pieces by Mr. Anthony, and appears... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20170514-01   $57.50

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Offered is a lovely example of a rare form in early American coin silver - a coffin-end pattern sauce or gravy ladle. This piece measures a little under 8 inches in length and weighs about 46 grams. It bears a lovely period script monogram of what appears to be "DSH". This piece has no maker's mark. Condition overall is very good, with no dents, splits or repairs; however there is a little spot on the underside of the handle where someone unfamiliar with antique silver did a scratch test... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
20170311-04   $29.50

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Offered is a very rare example of the work and maker's mark of Jean-Felix LeFevre (1780 - 1813), silversmith of Philadelphia. This piece is in fair condition at best, with a lot of surface wear and a dinged and dented bowl, but has a decent legible maker's mark and a period engraved script monogram. LeFevre's work is usually quite good, though this spoon is a bit lighter than most of his spoons. This piece measures about 5 1/2 inches in length and weighs about 14 grams. All in all a good... Click for details

Cliff Nunn - Antique Silver and Decorative Arts  
NFS   Not for Sale

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Offered is a challenge - identify the silversmith who made this spoon, with a verifiable and supportable attribution, and I will send you a surprise coin silver teaspoon in good condition (worth about $15-20) as a prize! I haven't yet found this mark anywhere, and thought it an interesting experiment to leverage the talents of some of the silver enthusiasts and experts out there.

This piece measures about 8 1/8 inches in length and weighs about 64 grams. It is marked "R.L" in an squarish... Click for details