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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 Continental / International Silver
 Mexico Silver Mark Identification Help Needed
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| Author | Topic: Mexico Silver Mark Identification Help Needed |
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SilverToGo Posts: 13 |
posted 10-16-2010 10:18 PM
  
[26-2058] As I am fairly new to the forum, let me introduce myself. I am an avid Souvenir Spoon collector and have been collecting now for about 5 years. I have spent a gazillion hours (not much of an exaggeration) researching my spoons. My bookshelves have several volumes on spoons and marks, and the internet has a wealth of information I have great fun discovering origins and values to the delight of my friends and family members. I have over 2000 spoons in my collection now and continue to look for more. I keep the ones that are special to me and sell the ones I don't particularly like, or have grown tired of. My decision whether or not to keep a spoon is based solely on its uniqueness and my whims and fancy and never because of the value. My grandchildren especially enjoy the stories behind my spoons. By the way, they are a great teaching tool for history and geography! Currently I have a dilemma. I am in possession of a lovely souvenir spoon that is clearly marked. It is about 3 7/8" long. The detail is so intricate and I would like to know if anyone can tell if it is hand made or machine made. In addition, I am unable to determine the maker. I am hoping that some of the forum readers can help me to track down the silversmith or maker and possibly the time period in which the maker was active. I have had this spoon for about 4 years now and have simply exhausted my resources trying to identify the maker. It is such a nice spoon and is one of my favorites. Any help I can get on this would be most welcome and much appreciated. Thank you IP: Logged |
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Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 10-18-2010 06:16 PM
2000 souvenir spoons-that's quite a collection! I hope you will share some of your most interesting ones with us on the forums! As for the current item, it is a fairly standard Mexican souvenir. The sombrero was quite popular on a range of tourist/souvenir items--jewelry, spoons, ashtrays, etc. They were produced beginning probably in the 50s and remain in production today. Your spoon is post-1979 (the MC-47 stands for Mexico City, the location of manufacture, and 47 is the specific workshop. You may be able to trace the maker, but there are many undocumented makers). From 1946 to 1979, Mexican silver had an eagle-shaped mark; after that, a 4-character alphanumeric code (such as MC-47) has been in use. These sombrero items were made with various degrees of handwork. Suspect your spoon's components (sombrero, "Cancun" handle, etc.) were prefab, and then hand-assembled. Hope this helps! IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 10-18-2010 06:27 PM
There was no such place as Cancun until the 1970s. It was just some beaches and small islands with a few dozen locals before then. The big tourist spot that so many people have visited was essentially built up from that over the past 30 years or so all souvenirs from there will be quite recently made. I agree that your nice souvenir spoon would likely have been mostly cast rather than hand made, but it likely has a bit of handwork to finish it off. Welcome to the forum. I am looking forward to seeing some more of your interesting spoons! IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 10-18-2010 07:40 PM
From what I have seen, my impression is that the sombreros are hand made. Most likely made over a form with hand finishing that accounts for the variety of silver sombreros on the market. There are also earrings, necklaces, pins, cane handles, belt buckles and bracelets made with the sombrero form. Paul, how do you come up with dating to the early 50's for this? I really don't know but wonder if there is information on the Mexican silver forms. IP: Logged |
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SilverToGo Posts: 13 |
posted 10-18-2010 11:28 PM
Thank you so much for your informative replies. The spoon remains one of my favorites. The hat is so detailed and besides, everyone who sees it loves it! How did I miss that Cancun wasn't a tourist destination until the 70's! I usually research locations so carefully. My bad. I guess I got so caught up in the maker search I ignored checking out the location. Thank you for your interest in my sollection. Many of my spoons are not worthy of listing here, but I do have some that I have found interesting. I will get some pictures taken and post some more one by one. IP: Logged |
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taloncrest Posts: 169 |
posted 10-18-2010 11:38 PM
I was wondering if the hat was made by another silversmith and purchased by this maker for use on their spoons. The hat appears to have been well marked itself, and with marks that don't seem to correspond with the ones on the stem. I had wanted to answer this one earlier, but I seem to have misplaced my Mexico marks book. I can't remember if any of the post 1979 marks are identified in it. Not many are, if any. IP: Logged |
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SilverToGo Posts: 13 |
posted 10-19-2010 12:00 AM
You make an interesting point. I was puzzled myself at why the two sets of markings. Your conjecture sounds plausible. IP: Logged |
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Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 10-19-2010 10:22 AM
Dale, I meant that the silver sombrero tourist items appear, from my experience, to have originated in the '50s. The present spoon is post-1979, and they still make the sombreros to this day. I didn't notice there were different markings on the sombrero. I can still make out the 4-digit alphanumeric code, so it, too, is post-1979. It appears to be TV-05, and if so, the T stands for Taxco. The individual sombreros can probably be purchased wholesale, and then made into a variety of items-spoons, jewelry... IP: Logged |
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