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Mystery Marks on Spoons

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Author	Topic: Mystery Marks on Spoons
mestuder Posts: 8 Registered: Apr 2013	posted 04-30-2013 01:29 PM Hello from Montana! After getting my grandson interested in collecting coins, I have developed an interest in silverware. Most of what I have found is old silver-plate and I have been able to locate the makers fairly quickly. However, I have looked all over the internet trying to find what these markings mean. These spoons are 5 inches long and have a WM and then & S M P(?) on the back of the handle. They appear to be of the fiddle back pattern. The end of the handle has a slight bend in it as it meets the table. At least, that is what it looks like to me. I am not sure of the '& S M P' as the letters are so ornate and/or worn. If you have any ideas about these I would love to know who made them. (The second photo is darkened in hopes of making the marking easier to see) Thanks! IP: Logged
Kimo Posts: 1627 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 05-01-2013 01:29 PM I am having a really hard time seeing any details on the markings. Is there a way you might be able to take some more photos much closer up and perhaps with a little side lighting so we can see what the marks are? Speaking very generally, the '& S' normally will mean 'and sons' as part of the maker's name so if you are correct in reading the first two letters as 'W M' then it would likely be something like a man's name with the initials WM who was joined by one or more sons in the business. In fewer cases it could be the last initials of 3 men in business together or something like that. The last two letters do not quite make sense though I would be pretty sure the P stands for 'Plate" meaning it is silver plated. Usually it is EP or EPNS or something like that where EP stands for 'electro plate'. More than a few makers made up their own name for electro plate though so it could be most anything. Their idea was to confuse the buying public by not making it so obvious that their wares were plated instead of solid silver. There are no real laws or rules about such markings so long as they did not copy actual hallmarks or use markings such as 'sterling' or .800 or .925 or similar markings that clearly mean solid silver. IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 05-01-2013 03:06 PM A quick and poorly done edit.. It may not help... but here it is: IP: Logged
mestuder Posts: 8 Registered: Apr 2013	posted 05-01-2013 09:26 PM Thank you Scott and Kimo. I will try to get a closer shot. Scott, your edit makes me think that that the last letter might be a capital B and not a P. so it would be WM & SMB. I will try to draw a picture of what it looks like close up too. Thank you both so much! IP: Logged
PhilO Posts: 166 Registered: Jul 2004	posted 05-02-2013 02:14 AM A wild guess, but the shape of the spoons suggests a British rather than American origin. So the mark may well be WH&SEP or WHS&SBP. Either would be an electroplate mark of William Hutton & Sons of Sheffield; EP = ElectroPlate, BP = Britannia Plate. IP: Logged
mestuder Posts: 8 Registered: Apr 2013	posted 05-02-2013 12:58 PM Yup--PhilO I think that is it. I looked up that company's marks and they appear to be a match. Thanks everybody! [This message has been edited by mestuder (edited 05-02-2013).] IP: Logged
Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 Registered: Apr 93	posted 05-02-2013 04:55 PM Is this what you see? IP: Logged
mestuder Posts: 8 Registered: Apr 2013	posted 05-02-2013 04:59 PM Yes! Thanks to everyone who helped me with this! IP: Logged

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