Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver

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...

Dating circa 1840, this 6 1/2" long, .7 T. oz., Tipt aka Fiddle Tipt spoon is stamped "F...

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 8 5/8" long, 1.2 T. oz., piece is a choice example of 1860s silver.

A table serving spoon, it is marked "Coin" and "Twambley & Cleaves" for the Biddeford, Maine, jeweler and silver retailer.

The handle is a Pointed Antique with a Tipt end. The surface is finely bright cut engraved in a period acanthus leaf design with a reserve area that is inscribed with a cursive "H" monogram.

The backside is plain save for the marks...

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...

Josephine was one of the earliest line patterns produced by Gorham, as indicated by the "Patent 1855" and "Coin" that appear on the backside of this example, which is a full-size, 7 1/2" long, just over 1.5 T. oz., dinner fork.

The design is characterized by a die struck leaf, scroll, and anthemion that appear on the handle obverse, minus the leaf on the backside, and an expanded leaf on the reverse heel...

A choice example, finely made and in essentially original condition, this serving, aka table, spoon measures 8 5/8" long and weighs 1.4 T. oz.

It is stamped "Coin" for the silver standard, and "Vautrot & Ackly" for the 1866-c. 1875, Warren, Ohio, partnership.

The (Fiddle) Tipt pattern predates this period, so this may have been older inventory carried forward from Vautrot's earlier working years, beginning in 1849...

There were numerous members of the Pitkin family attached to the silver industry in Hartford and East Hartford, Connecticut over a span of many decades in the 19th century.

This 7 1/4" long, 1.1 T. oz., place, aka dessert or oval soup, spoon, is marked "W.L. & H.E. Pitkin," for the partnership between William Leonard and Horace Edward, 1863-94. Given this is also stamped "Coin," it traces to the earliest years of the pairing...

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...

Born in 1827 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, William P. Jones apprenticed with William Moulton IV of the renowned family of silversmiths, as did contemporary, Anthony Francis Towle.

The two men established a partnership, which through a series of transitions eventually became Lunt Silversmiths, thus there is a long silversmithing lineage represented in this 6 3/16" long, .5 T. oz., sugar, or possibly small jelly, spoon marked "W. P. Jones" and "Coin."

It dates 1847-57, the period when Jones...

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...

A matching group in a Tipt aka Fiddle Tipt pattern, three of these four (two shown) teaspoons measure 5 1/2" long and one measures 5 3/4". The three collectively weigh 1.6 T. oz., and the single one .6 T. oz.

They are of archival interest for both the maker and the retailer.

Stamped with Whiting's "winged lion and W" emblem and "Coin," they are very early examples of a major 19th century silver manufacturer's modest origins.

Well-crafted and precisely-formed items with bri...

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.

First to be noted is the overall p...

Designed and introduced by silversmith Albert Coles, New York City, in the mid 19th century, the flatware pattern Jenny Lind met with success in the marketplace and was in time produced by other manufacturers in addition to Coles.

This 8" long, approximately 1.6 T. oz., coin silver place spoon (tablespoon in today's usage) is an early example, stamped with Coles' three part emblem and the name of Rochester, New York retailer "[Elias S. and Jacob] Ettenheimer."

It is also engraved in...

This preserve or jelly spoon measures 6 7/8" long and weighs 1.0 T. oz.

It is a mid 19th century, coin silver, piece in a French Thread aka Fiddle Thread pattern.

The 2 1/4" bowl is shell form with a scalloped and notched edge and high, rounded, shoulders at the join with the handle.

Never monogrammed, it is in excellent condition, absent polishing wear, free of dents, bends, or tears in the bowl, and with a pleasing patina. There are light surface scratches consistent wit...

This weighty, 3.0 T. oz., 9" long, c. 1865 solid silver pie server, aka pie knife, is marked for the Brockton, Massachusetts jeweler "Gurney Brothers" ("Bro's." as stamped).

Also marked "Pure-Coin," this doubtlessly has Boston origins, likely made by Farrington and Hunnewell, based on the design.

It has an Old English, i.e. downturned, rounded end, Reverse Tipt handle.

The 4 1/2" long by 2 3/4" at the widest, blade is unusually shaped, with a double scalloped edge, a raise...

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...

Measuring 7" long and weighing not quite 1.0 T. oz., this preserve or jelly spoon traces to Boston, circa 1860.

It is stamped "· F&H ·" for Farrington & Hunnewell, along with "Pure-Coin," which is a characteristically New England regional term designating the silver content.

The arched handle has an anthemion-shaped end suggestive of its circa 1865 Greek Revival period, which along with the main shank, is finely engraved in an intricate leaf and scroll design.

Boston design...