Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver: Serving Pieces

One of Gorham's earliest full line patterns, Grecian was produced to a coin silver standard beginning in 1861 and then continued in sterling from 1868 onward.

This example is marked only "Patent 1861" and with Gorham's "lion, anchor, G" emblem absent a sterling designation, thus indicating it is coin.

It is also the largest iteration of a ladle in this line and is for soup...

This large, 11 7/8" long, 3.7 T. oz. total weight, coin silver cake saw connects to multiple mid 19th century New York City silver manufacturers.

It is marked on the solid silver blade front with an "eagle, V, bust" hallmark for James Vancourt...

Dating circa 1860, this 9 1/4" long, solid weight at 2.4 T. oz., pie server is an early example of California (coin) silver.

It is stamped on the handle backside, "Vanderslice & Co. S.F. Cal." for the firm established in 1858 which, as recounted in Silver in the Golden State, became "the longest lived of the nineteenth-century San Francisco manufacturing firms," suggesting that this piece, unlike much California silver of the period, was regionally produced...

This 8 3/8" long, 2.0 T. oz., item is a superb example of mid 19th Boston silver work in terms of form, execution, and condition.

An Olive pattern, which was particularly popular in Boston in the period and produced with slight variation by several makers, it is marked "lion, F&H, bust," for manufacturer "Farrington & Hunnewell."

It is a hotcake, aka pancake or waffle, lifter...

One of the earliest names attached to California silver, Vanderslice & Co., dates to the late 1850s. Unlike many subsequent San Francisco firms which sourced much or most of their goods from Eastern manufacturers, Vanderslice was a primary source from its founding in 1857/58.

As recounted in Silver in the Golden State, Vanderslice & Co. became "the longest lived of the nineteenth-century San Francisco manufacturing firms."

This piece is a 9 1/4" long, 2.54 T...

While marked "Pat. Appld. For," along with maker's name "J[ohn]. Cook," New York City, later examples of this unnamed pattern indicate the patent was actually issued in 1869, dating this some time before that.

The piece is a large, 9 7/8" long, 2.4 T. oz., die struck, coin silver server, likely for ice cream.

The "rosette and bellflower" pattern is similar to A. & W...

The pattern on this 9" long, weighty at 2.8 T. oz., pie server is a "Leaf & Scroll" design that is indigenous to Philadelphia.

It is illustrated in a "handle patterns" unit of Catherine Hollan's Philadelphia Silversmiths, where it is attributed to Robert and William Wilson, a partnership that dates from the second quarter of the 19th century, and their "R.&W. Wilson" mark does appear on the backside of this coin silver piece...

This lengthy, 9 1/8", and weighty, 3.2 T. oz., berry scoop or shovel has origins in Boston, marked for "Bailey. Kettell & Chapman," 1854-58. It is also stamped "Pure-Coin," which is a characteristic New England term.

The handle is a die struck "Bead" pattern that appears on both the front and back sides. There is a cursive "EWL" monogram inscribed on the reverse...

Tracing to the mid 19th century, this pair of coin silver tongs are early production items made by Cincinnati's premier firm "Duhme & Co.," as indicated by the stamp on the inside of each arm.

Possibly for use with a (pickle) caster, they are large at 6 5/8" long, and heavy at 1.7 T...

This large, 9 1/8" long, just over 3.0 T. oz. (95 grams), berry scoop or shovel (sometimes identified as a cracker scoop) is a mid 19th century item with Philadelphia provenance. It is marked "J.E. Caldwell & Co." for the renowned manufacturer turned jeweler from that city.

Other marks include "coin" for the silver standard, and very small cartouche with the letters "ET," for which there is not an immediate explanation.

The form is very much of its period and place. The handle has a twi...

Having rounded, double scroll shoulders, with a triple leaf drop and a different single leaf also flanked by scrolls set mid handle, "Pacific" issued in 1870 by San Francisco's Schulz & Fisher was very much a period design. It is highly reminiscent, for example, of Knowles & Ladd "Crete" and Gorham's "Pompeii," both contemporaneous with "Pacific."

This example is an 8 7/8" long, 1.9 T. oz., pie server marked "coin" for the silver content.

It has a generously proportioned, 4 1/2" by 2 7/8" ...

Often attributed to prominent 19th century silversmith James Watts, the particular "animal head over shield with star" mark found on this lengthy, 9 1/2", 2.4 T. oz., coin silver pie server belongs to James Butler. Both men worked in Philadelphia in the mid 19th century.

Catherine Hollan in her encyclopedic Philadelphia Silversmiths notes Butler was a partner with Watts for "only one year 1867, then successfully continued independently manufacturing silverware with engraved patterns th...

Generously scaled, this coin silver server measures 10 1/8" long overall, has a 4 1/2" by 3" at the widest, blade, and weighs 3.3 T. oz.

It is marked "Blynn & Baldwin," for the Columbus, Ohio, pair of jewelers with approximate dates 1850-60.

The handle is in a double-sided "Kings" pattern that almost surely has Philadelphia origins, with kindred patterns illustrated in Catherine Hollan's encyclopedic Philadelphia Silversmiths.

Intended to serve pie or pastry, the blade is a study...

Marked "Patent 1861," "Beaded" is one of Gorham's earliest line patterns. It was produced for a considerable period of time and made in both coin and sterling silver. This example is marked "Coin," so dates no later than 1868, the year Gorham went to sterling.

It is a large, 9 1/4" long, approximately 2.5 T. oz. ice cream server.

It has an oval blade with two ribs in the interior, notched shoulders, a beveled edge, and a gold washed upper surface. This is shallowly concave and more o...

An early example of Gorham's Cottage, which was issued in 1861 to a coin silver standard and continued in production for many years through and beyond the company's transition to sterling in 1868, this 9" long, approximately 2.5 T. oz., ice cream spade is marked "Patent 1861," "Coin," and "Shreve Stanwood & Co.," for the Boston firm that eventually became that city's renowned "Shreve, Crump & Low."

A relatively plain pattern, this is embellished on the handle front with a delicately en...

Founded in Providence, Rhode Island, by William B. Fessenden (who had a prior working history in Boston with various and New York City with Whiting) in 1858, the firm that bore his name was one of numerous silver manufacturers located in the Providence to North Attleboro, Massachusetts corridor, all anchored by Gorham. Given this concentration of industry, there was a body of skilled workers in the area available to Fessenden, which enabled it to produce quality items from its onset.

This exa...

An important name among late 18th/early 19th century New York City silversmiths in his own right, Thomas Richards also paired with other significant smiths of his period, beginning with his father-in-law Daniel VanVoorhis, with whom he apprenticed starting in 1790 and partnered with from 1798-1802.

He was also associated at various times with John Sayre, William Pelletreau, and William Morrell prior to his death in 1830.

This pair of 6 1/4" long, 1.45 T. oz., coin silver tongs are stamped ...

Measuring 7 3/4" long and weighing 2.0 T. oz., this fork has rounded shoulders and three wide and lengthy tines, the outer two of which are splayed.

The form is uncommon and hence of uncertain function. It may be a spinach or toast/bread fork, or for another purpose yet. The proportions assure it is definitely original and not adapted from another piece as, for example, most potato forks are derived from dinner forks.

The maker was George Sharp, Philadelphia, as indicated by his "lion, S, ...