www.925-1000.com

Hello Forum,

I have a set of dessert spoons that mystify me. I initially thought they were made by Henry Loring, but I believe his mark has a dot between the 'H' and 'L' which does not appear to be the case here (the dot is very faint, if there is one). Nor do I have an explanation for the other mark: a simplified three-tower mark with an 'M' at the bottom. Can anyone shed any light on these marks?

Kind regards
Mikael

Ah, I see that the post has been moved to the German section - and I certainly agree that the tower mark resembles certain German town marks, such as the one from Hamburg. However, it's atypical, I think, in being little more than an outline - almost as if meant to look European rather than actually being so. The spoons were bought in America and I always thought they had a typical American feel to them. But of course one does see foreign silver in American from time to time... Anyway, I look forward to other members' views on these spoons.

Kind regards
Mikael

Go to section with german marks and look for Altona.

Yes, Altona is correct. Altona assayer's letters are not known with anywhere near the precision that the similar Hamburg letters are, but I have noted items with this "M" dated 1832-1849, and Stierling's Goldschmiedezeichen von Altona bis Todern extends that a little bit to 1829-1850. So that's a rough date: second quarter 19th century. Stierling also gives the Altona maker "HL" as Ferdinand Heinrich Laberentz (ca. 1800 - 1865), working from 1826.

Hope this helps!

Fantastic - mange tak, Hose - thank you very much, Blackstone! I'll go and update my files with this very useful information!

Kind regards
Mikael