Anomalous silver plate marks.

[paulh]

I have recently come across a couple of Walker & Hall pieces with what seem to be rather anomalous marks. They are both sets of fish eaters with W&H marks and date letters from the 1920s, but they also have an additional mark of “EP” and a crown within a shield. As the use of crown marks on silver plate was effectively banned in 1895, why is it on pieces from the 1920s? The fact that both of these sets of knives and forks are not in the UK (one is in Russia and the other in Canada) points me to an idea that the “no crowns” rule did not apply to exported goods. This is only speculation and I would therefore welcome comments on or even confirmation of this theory.

Paul.