Antique Sterling Silver Cutlery Set
hallmarked sterling silver cutlery consisting of two table spoons. London, 1799, maker William Eley & William Fearn. Weight 65g one table spoon, London, 1799, maker George Smith weight 30g one table spoon. London, 1789, maker Hester Bateman weight 40g sterling silver dessert slice. Weight 40g pate knife. Birmingham, 1909, maker GU weight 15g five teaspoons. London, 1799, maker I.B weight 50g six Queens pattern spoons London, 1873, maker Charles Boyton weight 560g four Queens pattern teaspoons London, 1863, maker Charles Boyton weight 130g another Queens pattern style teaspoon London, 1845. Weight 30g total weight 960g
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- Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
- Marrow Spoon - A spoon with a long handle and a narrow scoop shaped bowl, used to scoop and eat marrow from the hollow centre of roasted bones. Some marrow scoops are double ended with a different shaped bowl at each end.
- Hallmarks - A mark stamped on articles of precious metals in Britain, since the 14th century, certifying their purity. It derives its name from the Guild Hall of the Goldsmiths' Company, who recieved its Charter in 1327 giving it the power to assay (test the purity) and mark articles of gold and silver.
The hallmark will consist of several marks, including the:
- silver standard mark, indicating the purity of the metal. Sterling silver is .925 pure silver.
- the city mark indicating the city in which it was assayed eg London, Birmingham, York etc.
- the date mark, usually a letter of the alphabet in a particular font and case,
- a duty mark, indicating whether duty had been paid to the crown, and only in use from 1784 to 1890
The piece may include an additional mark, the maker's mark, although not forming part of the hallmark, will be located in the vicinity of the hallmarks.
Sometimes silver plated items will bear faux hallmarks, often confusing those not familiar with silver markings.
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