Suspect George iv stamp.

I got a pewter mug in a job lot and it's nothing special but I know nothing about pewter so decided to learn by identifying the marks.

It has a verification mark for George iv plus 2 verification marks for Victoria. I have identified that the GR 22 number relates to the Angus region in Scotland as does one of the VR stamps, also 22 for Angus. The year verifications are from Arbroath which is in the Angus county. This makes sense as it is only a few miles from where I got it.

There is an oddball VR stamp showing 36 which is for Glasgow, this is more worn than the GR stamp which should be much older. Have to admit I'm confused by all this. I did read that the earlier verification stamps were bashed in hard and deformed the lip and this has a dent where the GR is located. I have also read that there were fakes during Victoria's reign and I suspect this might be one. Seems odd to fake such a simple thing. It's not really worth anything. To cap it off, it is marked half pint. No other marks, makers or pot marks. It's an odd thing to start my pewter journey. Could it be as simple as it being from the George iv period and sometime during its life it was taken to Glasgow and verified there after George iv died then was re-verified on return to Angus?

 

Some of us are old, with arthritic necks.



New realm for me, so found this primer a quick intro:

https://www.pewtersociety.org/identifying-and-collecting-pewter/verification-and-capacity-marks

If this was essentially bar ware, maybe times it was sold on from one establishment to another the capacity had to be reverified?

The 'why would someone bother to fake it?' argument is a valid one.

 

I know nothing about this piece or this market - but the question "why would someone bother to fake it?" brings to mind "Why would someone bother to fake Gillette disposable razors?" There are a million reasons, and each one has a picture of George Washington on the face..................

 

A valid line of argument, not a conclusive one. In my own little niche, I have several glass intaglios experts accept as being genuine Roman 100 BCE - 200 CE because there are still so many genuine ones around & the amount of work to make one is not worth what you could make selling it. I have a hardstone cameo from turn of 19th century accepted as being the work of the person whose name is on it not only because it compares well with other known examples but also because if you were going to add a signature to enhance value, hers is not the one you would choose.

Number 47 says mug is 'nothing special'. It's those 'really rare' ones to watch out for.

 

I agree with others, no reason to think marks are fake. Main thing you have wrong is that this is not a mug, but a liquid measure. Used in pubs to measure out portions they were selling, which is why it is marked with capacity, and why stamps verifying capacity were needed. This one is in the 19th century belly style, so pretty common even here in the US and not avidly collected. Some people put together a collection of all the different sizes (pint, half pint, gill, ...) so you could keep your eyes out for other sizes if you're interesting in doing that.

p.s. The G stamp is probably George V, reign from 1910 to 1936? I think these measures were still being used until WW1 or so? You are in a better position to find out, since you live there (I'm in the US). If no one knows at your local pub, you could ask the pewtersociety linked above, they have a link to ask questions.

 

Now it makes sense. I came across the GR mark and everything online talks of George iv. I was right to think it suspect but missed the canary in the coalmine. George v makes plenty more sense. I haven't seen any of his marks while researching but the verification dates would be below the GR in the years 11, 12 and 14. Seems there was a change around the time George V came to the throne to make checks more stringent in this area as there are no year verifications before that.

So, I guess this would point to it being made in Glasgow and verified, (hence this mark having the most wear as it is oldest) it then made it's way to Arbroath for use in a pub, it somehow avoided being reverified under Edwards reign and was picked up again under George V.

This has been a very interesting little trip through history for me and greatly rewarding. Also picked up a better understanding of pewter along the way. Thanks everyone for your help. I'm probably going to donate this to our local air museum. They have a few exhibits it may fit into.

 

Air museum? Which one?

 

Montrose air station. Not sure if they'll want it but it's local and of an age relevant to some of their exhibitions.