posted 02-16-2002 08:58 PM              

I bought 6 silver spoons at auction. They are light and pretty and are engraved on the back: JAMES H. HART LIMITED. After that, they are engraved "sterling" and have some type of stick figure animal, an anchor and what appears to be a flower. They came with a handwritten letter describing the family history that they were handed down through a few generations. In the letter, the author says they were made from Mexican dollars and given to her in 1906 from her mother, who in turn inherited them from her grandfather. I cannot find anything on James H Hart. The spoons are in good condition, although appear to have been gently used.

I paid very little for them...is there any chance they really could be from the 1800's? I used some genealogy links on the internet and have verified the family history so the letter appears to be authentic.

posted 02-19-2002 09:29 PM              

The stick figure could be a lion, and the flower is a tulip (without the stem).

posted 02-23-2002 10:43 AM            

It is difficult to pinpoint the pattern of your spoons because the photo provided does not show enough detail. However, stylistically, the pattern is like a number of those patented by Gorham in the late 1880's. Most of these patterns are inactive, meaning Gorham no longer produces them on a regular basis, but they could choose to produce pieces in inactive patterns anytime, based on special order or demand. What this means is that your spoons were probably made no earlier than the 1880's, but could have been made relatively recently.

James H. Hart, by the way, is probably the retailer from whom the spoons were originally purchased. Often, silver was marked by both the maker and the retailer. I am not familiar with James H. Hart, but perhaps one of our other participants can tell us where James H. Hart was located and when. This may tie in nicely to the geneological research you have done.

As to the claim of the spoons being made from Mexican dollars, it is not likely. First, the spoons are marked sterling which means that they are 925 parts out of 1000 pure silver. Currency would not typically contain that amount of pure silver. Second, Gorham was and is a major manufacturer. By the 1880's, they were producing sterling silver flatware on a very large scale and it is hard to imagine that they would "stop the presses" to make some flatware in a fairly common pattern out of someone's Mexican coins. Finally, beware of family folklore. Although sometimes it is accurate, more times than not, it is like the game of telephone. As the story passes from generation to generation, the story gets a bit twisted until it hardly resembles its original self.