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Author	Topic: Interesting mark
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-29-2001 06:37 PM I have just received a spoon I bought out of curiosity. It is inscribed ROGERS BROS incuse on one line and SOLD IN ALBATA incuse in a second line below. I think it is coin silver but it might be silver plate (based on references in Rainwater indicating that Rogers Brothers made a lot of silver plate. The style is plain fiddle back with rounded shoulders. It is very thin. Anyway are there any guesses about the mark? IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 03-29-2001 09:58 PM Probably not silver or silver plate. Albata - Alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc, forming a silvery white metal, imitating silver, but with no silver content. Per: The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects .... IP: Logged
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-30-2001 09:46 AM Thanks for the home run. Now I wonder what the phrase means. Does anyone know if smiths made samples? The only meaning I can think of is that it is informing the reader (customer) that the style is sold in that alloy. IP: Logged
Brent Posts: 1507 Registered: May 99	posted 03-30-2001 10:09 AM Are you sure it says "Sold In", and not "Solid"? "Solid" would make more sense, and the word was used a lot for this type of alloy. You often find spoons marked "Solid Silver" or "Solid Alaska (Nevada, Indian, etc.) Silver" that are actually just variations on the same theme. They are not actual silver, but they are "solid" and there is no plating to wear through. Just a thought. Brent IP: Logged
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-30-2001 11:02 AM Yes, it is SOLD IN ALBATA, with the proper space between SOLD and IN. No question about that. The font for the phrase and the ROGERS BROS is the same. There might have been an apostrophe between the O and the S in BRO S since the spacing is similar to what I just typed. Thanks for your interest and response. IP: Logged
Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 Registered: Apr 2000	posted 03-30-2001 05:57 PM Perhaps SOLD IN ALBATA means the piece was sold in unplated form, for whatever reason. IP: Logged
Stephen Posts: 625 Registered: Jan 2003	posted 03-04-2003 01:46 AM TGS: Do you still have this? Does it tarnish? IP: Logged
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-04-2003 03:33 PM I do but I may have some trouble locating it. I will check it out to see if I can answer your question. ------------------ IP: Logged
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-04-2003 04:30 PM I found the spoon. It is hard to discuss tarnish because I have kept it in a pouch made of tarnish proof cloth. It has some blackish discolerations which would seem to yield to soap and water and rubbing. I think there is no doubt that it is ALBATA. I still tend to think that it was a sample of some kind. ------------------ IP: Logged
Stephen Posts: 625 Registered: Jan 2003	posted 03-05-2003 08:07 PM That certainly makes sense. Albata appears to be a term used in marketing materials, but not in any of the Rogers marks. I found the following which may be relevant: An 1857 catalog of the Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co. (1853-1862) showing flatware with "extra heavy plate on genuine Albata." A Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co. advertisement about 1862, just prior to the taking over of the firm by the Meriden Britannia Co., showing flatware "plated with pure silver on genuine Albata." An 1868 broadside for the Meriden Britannia Co., showing silver plated wares (1847 Rogers Bros.), states that "all our goods are made of the finest quality of Albata." An undated advertisement of the Meriden Britannia Co. stating that they are "Manufacturers of Britannia, Albata & German Silver Ware, both Plated and Unplated." IP: Logged
TGS Posts: 31 Registered: Sep 99	posted 03-06-2003 10:00 AM Wonderful news! Thanks so very much for the information. I had about given up finding anything to support the validity of that mark. IP: Logged

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