Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver: Flatware

Measuring 8 1/8" long and weighing 1.8 T. oz., this coin silver item has a generously sized, 2 1/2" diameter, shell-shaped, pierced, bowl and "Reverse Tipt" handle.

Generally identified as a large sugar sifter, there is some argument to be made that pieces this scale from this period were actually early ice spoons.

In either case, it is a fine representation of what it is.

It is stamped "R...

This 5 1/2" long, approximately .4 T. oz., teaspoon is one of three matching, exquisitely made, New England origin, pieces dating from the 1850s.

It has a Fiddle Tipt handle that is engraved "S M R" in fine script lettering set sideways on the front.

The bowl is well-formed, proportionate, has a pointed end, and rounded, tapered fins at the join with the handle.

Coin silver, it is marked "R.R. Conn" for the Fitchburg, Massachusetts jeweler...

Measuring 5 5/8" long and weighing .5 T. oz., this circa 1840 teaspoon has a double provenance.

It is marked "S. Ayers Elmira" for Socrates Ayers born in 1814. He worked in Elmira as a silversmith, watchmaker and jeweler until about 1877.

It is also stamped with a "star D star," which mark John McGrew in his Manufacturer's Marks on American Coin Silver attributes to an "Unidentified - Up-State New York" maker...

Relatively lengthy at 6", with slender, Fiddle Tipt handles in a style that is particular to Baltimore where they were made, this group of four, matching, teaspoons weigh 2.3 T. oz.

Each one is stamped "S. Kirk & Son" along with the standard mark "10.15," which is roughly equivalent to coin silver. This specific combination of marks was used 1846-61.

Each piece has a feathered script "EVE" monogram engraved on the front and an exposed thumb drop on the bowl reverse...

Very early examples of San Francisco marked flatware, this set of six, matched, 8 3/8" long, 10.9 T. oz. the lot, coin silver spoons date circa 1860.

They are stamped on backsides "G.C. Shreve & Co., which firm according to an entry in Dorothy Rainwater's Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers, was established in 1852.

It eventually became the West Coast's premier jeweler and silver manufacturer...

Bearing two telling marks, "S. Kirk & Son" used by the renowned Baltimore firm 1846-51, and "10.15" for the distinctive regional silver standard designation which is slightly less than coin, this place spoon measures 7" long and weighs 1.06 T. oz. (33 grams).

A handsome and well crafted piece, it has a Fiddle shaped handle with a subtle Tipt backside. The bowl has an exposed drop, and high, pointed and beveled, fins at the join with the handle...

A matched set, this c. 1835, coin silver, 6 5/8" long, likely pickle, fork and 7 1/2" knife, 2.8 T. oz. combined weight, are marked "S. Richard" for the New York City silversmith Stephen Richard.

The handles are filled (which is included in the total weight above), and feature a complex, double-sided, pattern that incorporates leaves, scrolls, flowerets, and two kinds of shells, one that is spiraled and one that appears to be a nautilus...

Measuring 5 5/8" long and weighing .8 T. oz., this sugar spoon was produced by Unger Brothers, Newark, New Jersey, whose entwined "UB" surrounded by "Sterling" and "925 Fine" mark appears on the backside.

The pattern is Douvaine, issued in 1904. Douvaine may be the most recognizable of the numerous early 20th century Art Nouveau flatware patterns Unger generated and for which the firm is renowned.

An expressive design, it features a dolphin or fish image at the tip of the han...

The Baltimore Museum of Art volume Baltimore Silver notes that Andrew Ellicott Warner "is the best known of a family of silversmiths which included his father Cuthbert, brother Thomas, and son Andrew Ellicott Warner, Jr."

This example of his work is a 7" long, weighty at 1.3 T. oz., place or dessert spoon.

The marks on this, "A.E. Warner" along with the peculiar to Baltimore "11" assay stamp (midway between coin and sterling silver), is one of seven documented in the above reference...

References assign an 1880 introduction date for Whiting's "Antique Tip" aka "Antique Tipt" pattern made in sterling, but this fork is an example of an earlier, 1860s, version made to a coin standard.

Measuring 7 1/8" long and weighing approximately 1.2 T. oz., this is a lunch, or simply a regular or place, piece.

It is characterized by a narrow shank that broadens widely, comes to a point at an unturned end which has a raised scroll and diamond drop that looks something like a fleur-de-lis...

A matching group in a Tipt aka Fiddle Tipt pattern, three of these four (two shown) teaspoons measure 5 1/2" long and one measures 5 3/4". The three collectively weigh 1.6 T. oz., and the single one .6 T. oz.

They are of archival interest for both the maker and the retailer.

Stamped with Whiting's "winged lion and W" emblem and "Coin," they are very early examples of a major 19th century silver manufacturer's modest origins.

Well-crafted and precisely-formed items with bri...

Singular in form, this place fork measures 7" long and weighs a heavy 1.9 T. oz.

Visually it is divided into two sections. The upper part is flat, thick, and set in a "French Thread" pattern on both sides.

The lower part of the shank is also flat, and has a splayed end where it joins the handle.

The tines are broad and relatively blunt.

It was made by William Gale of New York who operated in numerous partnerships, this one is denoted "WG&S," for William Gale and Son, which spanned th...

A popular 1850s design, the leaf form on this 8 5/8" long, 1.9 T. oz., coin silver spoon was made by several makers with slight variation, including William Gale & Son who produced this piece, Gorham whose pattern was named "Josephine," and Henry Hebbard.

The leaf appears on the handle end front and back sides, in elaborated manner on the reverse heel of the bowl, and in smaller stylized form on the front join with the bowl.

There is an anthemion-like detail on both sides of the handle tip...