Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver

A 9 3/8" long, 2.1 T. oz., solid silver pie server, this piece is marked "Coin" along with a maker's or retailer's mark that is too faint to identify with certainty, although it is likely Boston in origin.

Dating circa 1865, the pattern is Olive, which appears on both sides of the handle. The front is engraved in an elegant, feathered script, "SLM" monogram set sideways in the reserve area...

Measuring 6 5/8" long and weighing .9 T. oz., this item could be a preserve or large sugar spoon. It has a shovel shaped bowl which, while not unique to its mid 19th century period, is certainly less common than other forms.

The handle is fiddle shaped with a Tipt backside and rounded shoulders off the shovel. There is a script "JEH" monogram on the front...

Measuring 6 7/8" long, and weighing 1.16 T. oz., this piece is stamped "N. Harding & Co." for the mid 19th century Boston firm established by Newell Harding. It is also marked "Pure Coin," which was a standard designation largely used in the New England.

It is a double die struck Olive pattern, meaning the design appears on both sides of the arched and upturned handle...

A 19th century silver manufacturer with a long history, Joseph Seymour, Syracuse, New York, entered into a number of partnerships, one of which was with Benjamin Norton and David Hotchkiss from 1854 to 1857.

The mark on this 7" long, 1.3 T. oz., flat handle, coin silver master butter knife, "bust, NS & Co.," was used during that partnership.

While Seymour produced a number of named patterns, the one on this is known but unidentified...

A pattern that originated with Albert Coles, Jenny Lind established itself as a popular mid 19th century design and was adopted by numerous manufacturers.

This example, a 6 7/8" long, 1.25 T. oz., coin silver jelly or preserve spoon bears the four part pseudo hallmark that John McGrew in his benchmark work Manufacturers' Marks on American Coin Silver attributes to the "Gilbert, Cunningham, Cooper" complex of New York City.

This has a shell form bowl and is engraved "M...

Matched items, each of these two master butter knives measures 6 1/4" long with the pair weighing 1.3 T. oz.

Marked "Coin," they are without a maker's identification. The style suggests an 1860s date and the work is clearly that of a capable (American) manufacturer.

They have twisted shanks leading to broad, flat, upturned handle ends that are extensively and finely bright cut engraved on the top sides. Each piece has a feathered script "AMF" monogram...

The name Parisen is associated with four noteworthy 18th to early 19th century New York City silversmiths and jewelers. The senior one was Otto Paul DeParisen, born in Berlin, Germany in 1735, and the others are his three sons, Philip 1761-1822, David 1765-?, and Otto W., 1770-?

The "Parisen" mark that appears on this unusual length, 6 1/2", approximately .7 T. oz., place spoon, was apparently used by more than one of the sons (references vary about attribution)...

Writing in Silver Medallion Flatware, D. Albert Soeffing comments that "[Philo B.] Gilbert was a prominent New York City manufacturer, working for about thirty years. Although not well know today, he was one of the leading producers of his day."

This 6" long, .8 T. oz., coin silver sugar spoon is an early example of his "Medallion" pattern, marked only "Patent 1867."

Relatively rare, the line is multi-motif, featuring a variety of different helmeted knight's heads facing left...

This mid 1850s piece is stamped with a three part, "bust, letter, lion" pseudo hallmark and the name "E. Benjamin," for the New Haven, Connecticut jeweler, Everard Benjamin, son of well-known silversmith Barzilli Benjamin.

An olive variant which incorporates what may more accurately be interpreted as anthemion or honeysuckle portraiture, this design is attributed in Silver in the Golden State to the San Francisco firm of Frederick R. Reichel, and identified by the name Olive...

Measuring 8 1/8" long and weighing 1.8 T...

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. While not an uncommon piece per se, thi...

This 7 1/4" long, .93 T. oz., coin silver jelly or preserve spoon is marked "R. Smith" over "Newark" for Richard Smith, 1827-1904, generally identified as a jeweler.

A highly decorative item dating from the 1860s, it has a twisted stem joined to a scalloped edge, slightly upturned handle. This has a central shield shaped reserve surrounded by a textured background with wriggle work and bright cut engraved detailing.

The handle backside is plain save for wriggle work around the margins and ...

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...

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.

The handle is engraved "Ruth Burnham" in script lettering set sideways...

Established in 1867, Schohay & Ludwig (later Schohay, Ludwig & Co.) produced high quality silver, although as the company was short-lived, examples of their wares are not commonly found.

Located in Philadelphia, the firm's work followed after regional style typical of the period and that is the case with this 7 1/8" long, .9 T. oz., preserve spoon.

It has a flat, ovoid handle with a Tipt end that is joined to a twisted stem. This is engraved in a bright cut, line, and wriggle work l...

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" ...

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.

In very fine ...

This set of six, 6" long, 3.0 T. oz. the group, coin silver spoons are all marked "Root & Chaffee" along with a right facing "eagle" emblem.

William Root and Frederick Chaffee were located in Pittsfield, in the Berkshires region of Western Massachusetts, and were in partnership 1830-1849.

These have Fiddle handles with Tipt backs and are all engraved in fancy, feathered script, lettering, "E T Boyd" on the fronts.

In very good condition, they are free of wear or damage suc...