Found A Circa 1790s Coin Silver Spoon With MM Hallmark Today

[metaldetective]

This was found buried only about 4" deep at an old home here in Chester County, PA dating to the 1770s.
The bowl has mostly broken away, but I still think its a cool piece. It's hallmarked MM which stands for Marcus Merriman who was a CT Silversmith and was active from 1787 to 1826. This appears to be his earliest hallmark.
Its probably coin silver (90%) and has the monogram "EH".
Is this worth anything beyond silver scrap value?

Thanks,

metaldetective

 

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[Rockhoppernc]

scrap it.
or keep it

 

[Argentium]

Nice Find ! As is - I don't see it being worth more than silver value , still a great old find - and could be part of your local colonial finds display .

 

[oxbowbarefoot]

I would absolutely keep it if I found it. It's a artifact from the birth of our nation and you know who made it. It's worth more than melt as a conversation piece alone.

 

[voodoo]

looks like someone was enjoying their ice cream a little to much. ha ha ha. neat find.

 

[Argentium]

I want to echo the sentiment expressed by oxbowbarefoot I think he's really got the right sense of the "value" of this piece !

 

[vpnavy]

I am with oxbowbarefoot. Thanks for sharing...

 

[Msbeepbeep]

It has initials on it you may find out who it belonged to, to help date your finds.
Silver is silver, congrats!

 

[MUD(S.W.A.T)]

Sigh,

Its seems you know more about it than your replies...

Don't scrap it..!! Silver is silver IF its common silver, its not like finding a .925 toe ring..!! I don't think this is a very common piece and from what you've found out its an early piece. The monogram is kind of a down point,(Because how many people have those initials?) unless its someone famous... Most people would say its not a collectible piece but... To me these people have no sense of historical value, look or appeal. They will look at the shine before the antique qualities... Anyhow, umm to me I'd do two things with this... Keep it as a nice display or make some cool spoon rings with it... (could sell for $15-$20 ea. ring) should get 2 or three rings if i'm judging the size right... Maybe selling it as a collectible, but like I said most people would not think its collectible... I however freaking love it !! Great find !!

Keep @ it and HH !!

 

[park pirate]

Nice..

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

If it were mine, I would source a quality silversmith and have a new bowl made for it based on what spoons from Marcus Merriman look like. I also feel the inscribed initials add interest and value to the piece!

As Oxbowbarefoot stated . . . "It's a artifact from the birth of our nation and you know who made it".

Personally, to have it as a complete piece again would be that much more satisfying to me!

Dave

 

[treblehunter]

Great piece of colonial history.

 

[Argentium]

ANTIQUARIAN , That is a cool idea ! A restoration might be a touch pricey - but it would really be satisfying !

 

[462]

If you're not into preserving and displaying historical artifacts in your own home, you might consider mounting this in a small display case and presenting it to the home owner as a thank you gift when you are done detecting the property. It would be even better if you could research it and find that the monogram is of a previous owner of the property. I definitely wouldn't scrap it!

 

[Steve in PA]

That's a nice relic. It's silver, it's got the makers mark, and it's got the owners initials. I have a couple similar ones - one complete and one partial, and I love 'em!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

ANTIQUARIAN , That is a cool idea ! A restoration might be a touch pricey - but it would really be satisfying !

I think it might be relatively affordable Arg, especilly if you provided the silversmith with some scrap silver coins to melt down for the spoon bowl. I think the hardest part is to find a quality silversmith who knows Colonial American Silver.

Dave

 

[metaldetective]

Thanks for your input, everybody. Some great ideas. For now, I think I'll just keep and admire it, and maybe research who EH might have been. Happy hunting! Scott