Silver marks, crown

I have not even heard of it. Thanks for the tip!

 

Does it also cover Canadians by chance?

 

The description at the beginning states early American smith's,but by the mid 1700's there were many who moved back and forth between Canada and the states.As the pages show there have been many without an identified maker's mark.

 

Look at the very first post, if that ain't EP in a shield, sideways, I don't know what is!! The other pics are not clear, but this one is.

 

I see nothing in that shield that even appears to be a letter E or P. Looks like a badly stamped Kanji "letter".

 

Well I can lead a horse to water but ...

...even the OP said it was EP in a shield ...

 

Blooey, is this what you're seeing as EP? (I see the P, but the E is sort of funky...)

 

Yes, that's the EP mark. Agreed funky but so is the crown and the backwards wombat and the thing that isn't a fleur de lys, but sorta looks like it could be. All plater's marks (English BTW) meant to sorta approximate hallmarks without actually being a hallmark - and let's be fair, it seems to have done it's job rather well if we go by this thread ...

 

Similar marks have shown up on various silver forums many times - I see here Prince-of-Wales plume/beaver/crown/EP-in-shield, other than the beaver, all marks very common to British electroplate manufacturers (the crown not used after 1897). Would think John Sherwood & Sons of Birmingham the likely maker, but a quick scan through Silvercollection's English electroplate marks finds similar beavers used by Maxfield & Sons and Arthur E. Furniss, both of Sheffield, also one on a Harrod's piece (would guess belonging to the wholesaler), as well as one shown with the initials 'GH' under 'Unknown #1'.

http://www.silvercollection.it/electroplatesilverS.html

~Cheryl

 

Well, I am glad to know that my original "plated" suspicion did eventually work out, but I did want to keep an open mind since my experience with Canadian marks has been limited.

 

To clarify a bit, the entire fruit/lemon knife would be plated, probably over nickel silver on the handle (though Britannia metal is possible), and the blade likely steel, though some pieces were produced in all nickel silver or all steel. And while wombats are cute and chubby like beavers, they do not have big tails - here is a Maxfield & Sons mark with additional detail:



~Cheryl

 

We didn't really think this animal was a wombat, in the old days we just said that to distinguish it from anything remotely like a hallmark ..kind of an "in" joke among my circle!

Oh and BTW, I have a group of 18 solid silver fruit knives (blades too) that are just stamped with a castle and B&G in an oval, that I bought for a dollar apiece. Thought to be plate by the antique dealer.

 

That would make the "EP" upside down on the shield.I have never seen anything inside a shield being upside down,maybe it isn't an "EP".

 

Not unusual for fruit knives to have silver blades - from the small bit you describe, perhaps 19th century German?

Doesn't look upside-down to me, looks like the top of the shield wasn't completely struck, just as one side of the plume mark on the left was poorly struck...

~Cheryl

 

Indeed they are, German 19thc.