Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2184   $40.00

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length 5 1/8 inches, weight .47 oz. Troy, monogrammed "M.F.W.", fine condition with traces of original gilding on bowl and along handle.

One of these days, a more scholarly colleague will reveal the true name of this pattern...

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2180   Sold

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length six inches, weight 1.00 Troy ounces, no monogram, excellent condition, retailed by Wendell & Roberts.

Silver scholar and author D. Albert Soeffing describes this portrait as "a rather plain woman," and though it lacks the sophistication of some Medallions, there is a certain undeniable charm to her face. A great entry level item for the budding silver collector, should such a creature still exist...

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2169   $1650.00

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Gale & Mosely, New York circa 1830, double struck-- for the uninitiated, this means the pattern is both front and back, length just shy of 8 1/2 inches, some very slight tine wear on a few (we've pictured the worst one in enlargement number four) but superb overall condition, weight 30.74 Troy ounces (!!) or 2.79 each on average, no monogram.

One would be hard-pressed indeed to find a better set of dinner forks.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2155   Sold

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length 8 3/8 inches, weight 3.09 Troy ounces, no monogram, slight wear to gilding on tines but very nearly benchmark condition, retailed by Sheafer and Lloyd of Pittsburgh.

This pattern has always been a personal favorite. Note the expressiveness of the eyes, which you may examine up close in photo number three.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2152   Sold

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engraved "Kansas City" in bowl, length 5 7/8 inches, weight 1.30 Troy ounces, excellent condition.

Place pieces are much rarer than servers in this grand old Durgin pattern whose name is a subject of some disagreement, which leads me to believe that not many were produced.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2146   Sold

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with high relief cast bust of Van Dyck, length 9 inches, weight 3.24 Troy ounces, no monogram. Truly one of Antoine Heller's greatest designs, and among Gorham's most sculptural patterns.

There is a file cut (visible from side and reverse only; see fourth photo) which we've pictured in excruciating detail, and some light pitting on the blade which we've mostly polished out and probably will address a bit more, as time allows. Aside from this, the condition is excellent.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2141   Sold

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a sugar sifter length 7 1/8 inches; weight 1.74 oz. Troy, and a scalloped engraved bowl preserve spoon length 9 inches; weight 2 Troy ounces. Both pieces are marked only "STERLING," (attributed to Wendt) have fully gilt matte finish bowls and are in immaculate condition. We do not recall having seen this pattern before.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2139   P.O.R.

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Philadelphia circa 1790, a fine, large and massive piece, length 14 inches, length of bowl five inches, weight 6.87 Troy ounces, marked JA struck twice in cut cornered rectangle. There is a minor fill at the edge of the bowl (please see fifth photo) and some scratches on reverse, but excellent overall condition.

This spoon is not monogrammed and does not appear ever to have been, which is most unusual for early American silver.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2134   Sold

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round upturned end with full front midrib and thirteen-lobed shell drop, length 4 5/8 inches, engraved with initials "D N", weight .32 oz Troy, some annoying abrasions in bowl but very good overall condition.

Faithful readers of our little web page know we never tire of mentioning that Burt was a substantial and by all reports jovial fellow who weighed three hundred and eighty pounds.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2133   Sold

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length 5 5/8 inches, weight .45 oz. Troy, pointed downturned end with rounded drop and thirteen-lobed shell below, excellent condition, monogrammed "B".

Come ye citizens of Portsmouth and reclaim thy heritage!!

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2130   Sold

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Many of our faithful readers have no doubt been wondering, "Has Cherner resigned, retired, been fired, got tired or perhaps become discouraged with the overall lack of interest in antiques unless they are being chased by strange folks on the telly"? Well, no, we actually took a bit of vacation and mostly stayed out of the shops so have little new to show but this lone Tiffany spoon.

If the hostess gift still lives, then this (and a pound of great coffee) would make a fine one. Length 4... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2125   Sold

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dessert spoons, Paris circa 1780, .950 standard, maker's mark LTA (please see fifth photo), total Troy weight 20.75 ounces, some light wear but fine overall condition, with crest as shown though one spoon also has a period script "S" monogram. The forks measure 20.5 and the spoons 19.5 centimetres.

French silver from this period is quite scarce. Price is for the total of eight pieces.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2124   Sold

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length 8 1/2 inches, monogrammed "Cora 1900," fine condition, weight 3.39 Troy ounces, retailed by R. Mockford of Trumansburg, NY.

Born in Winchester, England (1839), Mockford trained as a miller. He originally established himself in Tompkins County as a baker and flour merchant, then a jewelery pedlar, and finally a retail jeweler. For a peek back in time at how his mill would have looked in 1890, see photo number five.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2119   Sold

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length 10 1/4 inches, weight 3.5 Troy ounces, superb original condition, monogrammed "B". This is truly a grand piece of silver. Often, fine details of die-struck patterns were embellished by hand chasing, and a light finger over the grapes and tendrils here will reveal to the touch a slight burr still left from the silversmith's tools.

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2115   Sold

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length 9 5/8 inches, weight 4.86 Troy ounces, monogrammed "M" (obverse, Old English), gilt tines with a bit of table wear to gold wash on underside but excellent overall condition.

Most American silver manufacturers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries offered some variant of the Chrysanthemum pattern. As faithful readers of our little web page will know, here is my favorite one of them all. Perhaps it was their location (in Concord) near the wilderness of New Hampshire... Click for details

Bruce Cherner Antique Silver  
2102   $125.00

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length 7 1/4 inches, weight 2.69 oz. Troy, monogrammed as shown in photo number three, retailed by Daniel Low, some very minor stains on bowl but excellent overall condition.

Don't get me wrong, we love a nice 1820's piece of S.O.W. ever so much, but you'll never see this amount of detail in a sheaf which some brawny silversmith made by whacking a swage with a big hammer.