There are various threads on the internet that offer the tale of the subject of this spoon, Chief Ogontz of the Wyandotte and/or Sandusky Indians. One of his major associations was with Jay Cooke, a person who was generally credited with funding the Civil War, and who named his mansion in suburban Philadelphia after Ogontz. There is also a camp in New Hampshire that takes its name from him, and its website has biographical information...

Made by Weidlich, this c. 1900 sterling silver spoon measures 5" long and weighs approximately .7 T. oz. It is an attractive floral design, perhaps goldenrod, exhibiting fine die work and finishing, and has a satin gold wash over the entire piece. The front interior of the bowl reads "Cornell College Chapel," and "Cornell," for the Iowa school, and is engraved with a precisely rendered image of the chapel. The backside is engraved "Bachelor Maids" in script...

This 4 1/4" long coffee spoon is marked with a first standard .950 purity (slightly more than sterling) French Minerva, a bigorne, and the maker's stamp, which is an "L" and "M" flanking either side of a dome shape set at a cant. The handle is three dimensional and imprinted with a hanging leaf and berry design. The end of the handle has a cast knight astride a horse. He looks something in the manner of a crusader figure, with an upraised sword in his right hand...

Produced by Gorham's renowned Antoine Heller, Coligni stands alongside such other commanding figural patterns as Versailles, Fontainebleau, Mythologique, and Old Medici offered by that firm and designer in the late 19th century. Of all those designs, it may be the one with a look most likely to have gone toe-to-toe with Tiffany's Olympian of the same period. This 6" long, heavy, just over 1.0 T...

General Israel Putnam was a fabled Revolutionary War figure whose name and exploits were well known in the late 19th century, the period of this piece. The specific subject of this 5 1/2" long teaspoon was his encounter with a marauding she wolf in the northeastern Connecticut town of Pomfret. The neighboring town of Putnam is named for him...

This popular souvenir spoon was originally produced by Gorham in the 1890's and reissued as late as the 1970's or 80's. The dating on this 4 1/4" long, relatively heavy .4 T. oz., example is uncertain, although it has qualities that suggest age. The handle retains a sharply defined pattern front and back sides and in the bowl of the spoon. The elements of the design are highly detailed and not murky...

This sterling silver coffee spoon was made by Gorham c. 1890. It measures 4 3/4" long and weighs nearly .5 T. oz. which is quite heavy for a piece this size. It has a cast handle that portrays perhaps daisies or asters with leaves and stems. The die struck bowl also has a floral and leaf theme, but also incorporates a free-form scroll and swirl element as well. This is suggestive of an aesthetic influence at work in the overall design...

Stamped "Sterling" and "Mermod & Jaccard." for the premier St. Louis jewelry and silver firm, this 5 3/8" long, .7 T. oz., souvenir spoon has two identifiers. One is the obvious "1838" imprinted in the gold washed bowl. The second is disguised in the reticulated design of the handle. On the surface lattice-like, the pattern actually portrays letters spelling out "Monticello." Presumably this is a reference to a small city in Illinois east of St. Louis...

Adapted from a 5 5/8" long, .7 T...

Shiebler's "Sunny South" souvenir spoon is a time piece dating c. 1900. Made by Shiebler, it was retailed in this instance by "Greenleaf & Crosby Co." whose stamp appears on the backside along with Shiebler's emblem and the word "Sterling." This example is a 4 1/8" long coffee or demitasse spoon. It has added appeal in that the gold finished bowl is acid etched "Royal Poinciana, Palm Beach, Fla." This was a fabled resort dating from 1894 until the Depression years. The piece exhibits excell...

One of a line of several figural Art Nouveau designs issued by Unger around the turn of the 20th century, "Cupid's Nosegay" disguises the faces of four cherubic figures set amidst an array of iris blossoms and leaves. This example is a 5 3/4" long, just under 1.0 T. oz., teaspoon. It is in flawless condition, and absent a monogram or removal. Marks are "Copyright 1904" and "Sterling." The Unger Brothers emblem is impressed right at the heel where the handle joins at an angle, and is some obs...

This 5 7/8" long, weighty, 1.0 T. oz., teaspoon is three items in one. Made by International, it is "December" in a series of month spoons. Second, it is an extremely attractive pattern piece portraying holly in a high relief, sculpted manner. The design appears on both front and back sides of the handle. Third, it is a souvenir spoon, engraved "McPherson Kan" in the bowl in a fancy script. The backside of the bowl is engraved "1908." There is a Wikipedia entry for McPherson and it shows a...