Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver

A high style piece representative of the finest quality silver work generated in mid 19th Boston, this item is a substantial-sized water pitcher.

It stands 11" tall to the highest point of the lofty handle, has a bulbous, eight panel, baluster-shaped body that is 6" across at the widest, sits on a rimmed, 4 1/2" diameter, octagonal base, weighs 25.75 T. oz., and holds four pints (64 ounces) of liquid...

This basket stands 4 7/8" tall to the rim, reaches 7 1/2" to the top of the upraised swing handle, has a top diameter of 5 1/4", stands on a footed base that is 3 1/2" across, and weighs 9.4 T. oz.

Solid coin silver and dating circa 1860, it was made by Wood & Hughes whose "WwH" emblem is stamped on the underside.

It could be a sugar basket for large tea set, or perhaps a sweet meat server.

Very much a period piece, it incorporates design elements popular in the period...

Standing 2 7/8" high, with a top diameter of 2 3/8" and a bottom diameter of 1 7/8", a maximum span of 3 5/8" to the end of the handle, and weighing a relatively light but proportional to the overall size, 2.8 T. oz., this mug is marked "WwH" for Wood and Hughes, New York City, and "900/1000" for coin silver.

Baluster form, it has a beaded base with smaller beading encircling the top rim...

This 8" long, 2.3 T. oz., solid silver sugar sifter is high Victorian in style. It is also a study in the silversmithing art.

Hallmarked for London, 1875-76, sterling, with a Queen's duty head, and "HH" for maker Henry Holland (later Holland, Aldwinckle & Slater), it carries considerable provenance. Holland and the subsequent firm were recognized as one of the most significant English silver manufacturers of their time.

This is artful in multiple ways...

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]...

These six, matched, coin silver, spoons are marked "Gorham & Webster," for a partnership that traces to 1831-37.

This period demarcated a turning point in the history of Gorham, defining the pivotal time when the company began its ascendency as a premier silver manufacturing firm.

It bears citing Charles Carpenter's passage in Gorham Silver 1831-1981 about this partnership:

Whether or not Jabez Gorham learned spoon making during his apprenticeship is unknown, but when he deci...

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.

The handle is flat and double die struck, meaning the pat...

Period items dating to the mid 19th century, each of these two footed master salts is stamped "10.15" for the peculiar-to-Baltimore area silver standard that is roughly equivalent to coin.

Round and matching, each one measures 2 1/4" in diameter and 1 1/4" tall. They are moderately heavy, weighing 2.5 T. oz. combined.

Each one has a body that is repoussed all over in a leaf and flower pattern, with a reserve area that has never been monogrammed. There is an applied plain top rim. On...

An engaging regional period piece, this mug stands 2 13/16" high to the rim, 3 1/8" to the top of the handle, has a top span of 2 1/2" (3 3/4" to the end of the handle), a bottom diameter of 2 1/8", and weighs 3.1 T. oz.

It is stamped on the underside "Currier & Trott," along with "Coin," for the Boston partnership of jewelers and watchmakers with dates from the mid 1820s to the mid 1850s.

The style of this suggests it traces to the 1840s.

It has applied gadroon rims on the top a...

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.

The generously proportioned, 3 1/2" by 2 3/8", scoop is engraved with a highly detailed and finely rendered motif that portrays ...

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. oz., and combine a variety of period design elements.

The arms have a twisted central section joined to a solid squared block where they meet the substantially-scaled talon grips.

The upper portions are br...

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" ...