Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver

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 pair of coin silver tongs are generously sized at 6 1/4" long and weigh 1.2 T. oz.

Each arm is stamped "F. [for Foster] Tinkham," born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, in 1803, and documented working in New York City in 1840, the approximate date of this piece, as a jeweler and watchmaker. He had returned to Massachusetts by 1855.

The arms are Fiddle shaped, which is a style consistent with their period...

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, 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...

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...

Relative large, this coin silver master butter knife measures 7 3/4" long and weighs a commensurately heavy 1.3 T. oz.

Elegantly designed, it has a lengthy, slender, handle that has high, double swell, chamfered fins off the blade. The end is fiddle shaped and features a raised shell motif.

The blade is somewhat short at 2 7/8" long and wide at 1 1/8". It has a blunt end and curved upper edge with a notch toward the tip...

One of William B. Durgin's earliest patterns, dating circa 1870, and commonly identified as Spray, this design features a bouquet of woodland flowers and grasses tied by a bow.

This motif appears in the top center of the handle, and is repeated on the lower front and backside heel of the join with the blade of this 6 3/4" long, 1.0 T. oz., master butter knife.

There is a script letter "R" monogram on the handle front...

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he worked as a silversmith in the 1820s, and apparently with a short-lived presence on Nantucket Island, Masschusetts, William P. Stanton established himself in business in 1829 with his brother, Henry, in Rochester, New York.

This pair of 5 3/4" long, .9 T. oz., coin silver tongs are marked "W.P. & H. Perry" for that partnership.

Their plain, angular, fiddle shaped arms date them from early in the partnership, c...

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...

Dating from the mid 19th century, these two matching master salt spoons each measure 3 3/4" long and weigh .6 T. oz. combined.

An Oval Thread pattern, they are stamped "Squire & Lander" for the New York City jeweler, along with the "star, lion, D" manufacturing mark of John L. Westervelt, Newburgh, New York.

The rounded bowls measure 1" by 3/4" and are moderately deep at 1/4".

They are engraved "Thorpe." in script set sideways on the handle fronts.

In excellent condition, the ...

Measuring 6 5/8" long and weighing just over .5 T. oz., this mid 19th century spoon is marked "Coin" without any other identifiers. Given the style, it is likely New England or New York in origin.

A jelly or large sugar spoon, it has an engagingly naive quality about it.

The handle has a narrow stem, and flat, shaped, round, upturned end with a slight knob tip. The surface is engraved in a simple, but endearing, leaf and flower design. The flower appears to be a narcissus.

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.

The handle front is engraved wi...

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...

A piece attached to the early history of Chicago, this coin silver sauce or small gravy ladle is marked "Speer & Cosper" "Chicago," for a partnership of only two years duration, 1852-53, although Isaac Speer had been in business as a jeweler and watchmaker since 1840, and continued on after the pairing dissolved.

This is an unusually proportioned piece. It measures 7" long, with a handle that is lengthy in comparison to the 2" by 1 1/2" by 1/2" deep oval bowl. It weighs 1.1 T. oz.

The patt...

Tracing to mid 19th century Boston, this 6 3/4" long, .7 T. oz., jelly or large sugar spoon is marked "Currier & Trott" for the partnership between watchmakers and jewelers, Richard and Peter respectively, which lasted 1823-55.

The Fiddle Tipt pattern of this places it toward the latter end of those years.

A finely crafted piece, it has a shell bowl with notched and scalloped edges.

There is a finely engraved script "LR to ECL" monogram engraved on the handle backsi...

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 6 1/4" long and weighing .64 T. oz., this sugar spoon is a charming period piece.

The Reverse Tipt handle is bright cut engraved in a wispy leaf design with training stems that encircle a script letter "LHN" monogram.

It also has an usual form bowl with scalloped ends and interior paneling, all finished in a pale gold wash.

It is stamped Harry Raynes for the Lowell, Massachusetts, jeweler working from 1865 into at least the 1880s, and at times in collaboration wi...

Although primarily a New York City Silversmith, Louise Belden in Marks of American Silversmiths and other sources note that William Grigg spent some years in other locations, namely Albany 1770-78, and Halifax, Canada, 1782-89.

He was a freeman worker in 1765, dating this group of six, matched, 5 1/2" long, just over 3.0 T. oz. (95 grams) the lot, to the decades between then and Grigg's death in 1797.

They are all stamped "W.Grigg" in a serrated cartouche, which is one of four marks...