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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;DragonflyWink, post: 306652, member: 111&quot;]Ummm, the Newcastle assay office, as did a few others, used the crowned leopard-head in addition to their other marks (if I recall correctly, it was a royal guarantee of sorts), but wouldn&#039;t be too concerned about it being missing on smaller spoons.&nbsp; I don&#039;t have my British hallmark references available to help sort out the dates, but from what I can see, suspect it&#039;s probably 1802/03, as Bakersgma suggests, checking to see if some of the marks are more clear on the other pieces might be helpful...</p><p><br /></p><p>&#039;Toddy ladles&#039; is really a better term, and yours are in the Old English pattern - there are two types of toddy ladles, the larger long-stemmed type, usually with a non heat conducting handle of something like baleen, wood, ivory, etc., that would have been used to dip the toddy out of a good sized bowl into the glasses, and the smaller ones like yours, usually around 6&quot;-7&quot; long, and also occasionally found with handles of baleen, etc., or even entirely of wood.&nbsp; Were your ancestors Scottish?&nbsp; The use of sets of toddy ladles was more common in Scotland, where the gentlemen would mix their whisky, sugar and hot water in a tumbler, stirring it with the ladle and then using it to dip out a portion into a glass, sometimes sharing, but often just for themselves...</p><p><br /></p><p>Here is a set of three similar to yours,with Edinburgh 1806/07 marks:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Edinburgh-set-of-3-Scottish-silver-Georgian-toddy-ladles-James-McKay-1806-7-/262755512263" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Edinburgh-set-of-3-Scottish-silver-Georgian-toddy-ladles-James-McKay-1806-7-/262755512263" rel="nofollow">https://www.ebay.com/itm/Edinburgh-set-of-3-Scottish-silver-Georgian-toddy-ladles-James-McKay-1806-7-/262755512263</a></p><p><a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Edinburgh-set-of-3-Scottish-silver-Georgian-toddy-ladles-James-McKay-1806-7-/262755512263" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Edinburgh-set-of-3-Scottish-silver-Georgian-toddy-ladles-James-McKay-1806-7-/262755512263" rel="nofollow"></a></p><p>~Cheryl[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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