Fraudulent Coin Silver?

[paul-trading]

I have submitted this as I feel it may be of interest to members. This is a souviner spoon surmounted by an effigy of Columbus with the handle marked "Worlds Fair City", the bowl is embossed with a picture of the transportation building. The rear of the handle is marked "Standard" yet the spoon is clearly plated, and thinly, I can only surmise that this was sold as a deliberate fraud.

Paul
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[wev]

I doubt there was any original attempt to defraud or at least no more than was usual in the silver trade of the time. You asked in another forum about the use of the word "Standard" as a designation for coin silver, wondering if "it is sometimes used for coin silver," to which I responded yes. You have jumped to an unwarranted conclusion; obviously, the operative word is sometimes. Standard was also used to designate ordinary grade silverplate by some companies. And it was also sometimes the name of the company that produced the piece, as in The Standard Novelty Company of Brooklyn NY.

Whether some subsequent dealer might play upon this confusion to pass the piece off as coin is another question, of course.
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[paul-trading]

Hi

Thank you for putting me right, I am trying to learn all I can about silver and every mistake helps, if corrected. I think one of the fascinating things about American silver is the many ways in which it is described and although this can sometimes be a minefield it also makes for an interesting journey.

Thank you again

Paul
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