American coin silver Mystery Mark #1 -- AHB

Mustard ladle, c1810-20 -- This is a 4-3/4"-long piece with an extraordinarily long (2-1/2") fiddle; it has square shoulders and a tiny (3/4") oval bowl. Mono, as shown, is T E C in feathered script. One would think that a smith, or a partnership of smithies, with a 3-letter mark would be easy to find. Not so. We went thru the B's in Kovel and other silver books to no avail. Then we did the same with the A's, thinking it might be a 3-person partnership. Still no luck. Shame, that. It's a neat little piece -- delicate, elegant. (NOTE: this is the first of a series of coin silver Mystery Marks we'll be putting on Cyberattic. If anyone has any thoughts re any of the pieces, we'd be happy to hear them.)