Catalog: Silver: Coin Silver

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...

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...

Generously scaled, this coin silver server measures 10 1/8" long overall, has a 4 1/2" by 3" at the widest, blade, and weighs 3.3 T. oz.

It is marked "Blynn & Baldwin," for the Columbus, Ohio, pair of jewelers with approximate dates 1850-60.

The handle is in a double-sided "Kings" pattern that almost surely has Philadelphia origins, with kindred patterns illustrated in Catherine Hollan's encyclopedic Philadelphia Silversmiths...

Marked "Patent 1861," "Beaded" is one of Gorham's earliest line patterns. It was produced for a considerable period of time and made in both coin and sterling silver. This example is marked "Coin," so dates no later than 1868, the year Gorham went to sterling.

It is a large, 9 1/4" long, approximately 2.5 T. oz. ice cream server.

It has an oval blade with two ribs in the interior, notched shoulders, a beveled edge, and a gold washed upper surface...

Marked for the prominent Cincinnati firm of "Duhme & Co.," this 6" long fork, 6 3/8" knife, and 6" spoon set has additional provenance as each piece is engraved what appears to read, "Andrew K. Reuss" on the handle front and "Jan. 26th 1872." on the reverse.

Artfully crafted, the hollow handles have rounded ends with a "Thread" design and arum leaf detailing at the join with beaded and engraved banding...

Taking its name from the novel by Sir Walter Scott, "Kenilworth" originated with Albert Coles in the 1860s and was later continued in production by George Shiebler.

This 7 1/2" long, 1.2 T. oz., tea aka breakfast aka dessert knife is an early solid coin silver example marked with Coles' three part "eagle," "A/C," "bust" emblem.

Classified as a "Medallion" pattern by D...

An early example of Gorham's Cottage, which was issued in 1861 to a coin silver standard and continued in production for many years through and beyond the company's transition to sterling in 1868, this 9" long, approximately 2.5 T...

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...

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...

Measuring 7 3/4" long and weighing 2.0 T. oz., this fork has rounded shoulders and three wide and lengthy tines, the outer two of which are splayed.

The form is uncommon and hence of uncertain function. It may be a spinach or toast/bread fork, or for another purpose yet. The proportions assure it is definitely original and not adapted from another piece as, for example, most potato forks are derived from dinner forks...

A well-regard name among mid 19th century Philadelphia silver manufacturers, James Watts produced this lengthy, 8 7/8", nearly 1.5 T...

This item traces to mid 19th Baltimore and reflects the character of early silver from that city.

Sugar tongs, they measure 5" long, and at 1.7 T. oz., are exceptionally heavy for their size.

Stamped "S. Kirk & Son" and "10.15" for the peculiar-to-Baltimore silver standard that is essentially equivalent to coin, each arm is chased in a high relief flower and leaf design that is akin to Kirk's holloware of the period, as illustrated, for example, in Maryland Silver published b...

As documented by Flynt & Fales in The Heritage Foundation Collection of Silver, Eleazer Wyer, born in Boston in 1786, learned goldsmithing from his father (of the same name), and his sister married silversmith Timothy Keith, so the trade was clearly a family tradition.

Eleazer relocated to Portland, Maine about 1806, and from 1814-18 was in partnership there with Charles Farley.

Four of these six, essentially matched, coffee or tea spoons are marked "Wyer & Farley" along with an "ea...

Marked "Coin" and with the number "4," but without a maker's identifier, this particular 1860s "Medallion" pattern is illustrated in D. Albert Soeffing's benchmark Silver Medallion Flatware within a grouping that he classifies as "naive" or "primitive."

Soeffing shows a sugar sifter, while this is a 6 1/4" long, just over .8 T. oz., sardine fork.

The "Medallion" is cast and applied, portraying in this case a right facing female figure surrounded by engraved detailing, and on the sif...

An original knife, fork and spoon youth grouping, each of these pieces is stamped "C.A.W. Crosby" for the Boston jeweler, 1855 onward, and "Pure-Coin," which is a characteristic New England term indicating the silver content.

A double die struck (meaning the design appears on both sides) Olive pattern popular in the mid 19th century, each handle is inscribed in script lettering set sideways, "C.J.A. to C.A.P."

The blunt end, solid, knife measures 7 3/8" long and weighs 1.1 T. oz.; t...

Introduced in 1861, and initially made to a coin silver standard then continued in production beyond the conversion to sterling in 1868, Gorham's Grecian features a solid tubular stem capped with an elaborated anthemion or palmette.

This 7 1/2" long, 1.9 T. oz., gravy ladle is an early piece, marked "Coin," along with "Patent 1861."

The handle backside is engraved with an "H.A.B" monogram in Old English lettering.

The bowl is large, 2 3/4" by 2 1/4" by 1" deep, helmet-shaped, has ...

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.

The blade is triangular-shaped, 4 3/4" long and 2 3/4" at the widest, and has slightly raised...

This intact youth set is comprised of a 7 3/8" long, 1.1 T. oz., solid silver flat handle knife, a 6 3/8" long, .9 T. oz., fork, and a 5 7/8" long, .64 T. oz., spoon.

In an Olive pattern, these are all original to one another with each engraved in script lettering, "C.J.A." to "C.A.P."

The commonality of the "C.A." letters prompts speculation about whether two generations shared names.

All pieces are stamped "C.A.W. Crosby," which was a Boston retailing firm established in 1852 ...