basssmann
Hero Member
Anyone know any of these Hallmarks for Sterling ?? Is the Lion or Crown, Sterling, all the time ??
Need help Identifying hallmarks
- Thread starter basssmann
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Wallace Silversmiths
From 1956
Wallingford, Connecticut
Don...
From 1956
Wallingford, Connecticut
Don...
Red-Coat
Gold Member
Just browsing around and I noticed that only one of your three marks had been identified. You might have made it clearer that you were showing marks from three different and unrelated pieces.
The answer to your question is an emphatic ‘no’… lions and/or crowns are most certainly not a reliable indication for Sterling silver. British hallmarks for Sterling follow a legislated format that specifies a set of compulsory marks, for which the lion passant designates Sterling (not a lion rampant as you are showing) and the crown designates the Sheffield assay office. Especially after the appearance of electro-plate in the 1840s, many manufacturers applied marks with similarities to our official hallmarks as a cynical way to enhance their appeal to customers.
Your first mark is a classic example. The array of marks with plumes, crown and lion is designed to look impressive, with mimicry of the kinds of symbols seen on British Sterling silver, but they’re pseudo-hallmarks for American silver plate. The maker is E.G. Webster and Son of New York and Brooklyn, founded in 1860 by Elizur G. Webster. Those particular marks date between 1886-1928 as Webster & Son but continued to be used after that date when the company became part of the International Silver Company until their trademark was changed to Webster Wilcox in 1961.
The second mark is, as said, for Wallace Silversmiths, originally founded as Robert Wallace in 1834 in Wallingford, Connecticut. After a couple of name changes, they became ‘Wallace Silversmiths’ in 1956. That particular mark was used on both silverplate and Sterling, but Sterling pieces would be additionally marked with the word ‘Sterling’ and/or ‘925’.
The third mark is for Arthur Krupp Metallwarenfabrik, founded in 1843 in Berndorf, Austria but with later factories in Esslingen, Germany and Milan, Italy. The key mark with the ‘BE’ initials is for the Esslingen factory and dates to c1919-1927. It’s a rarely-seen mark used for their high-quality silver-plated (Alpacca-Silber I) items.
PS: If you have other items that need identifying, it usually helps if you show the piece itself rather than just the mark(s). That often helps narrow down the country where the piece was made (and sometimes the timeframe) and reduces the amount of searching to find the mark.
The answer to your question is an emphatic ‘no’… lions and/or crowns are most certainly not a reliable indication for Sterling silver. British hallmarks for Sterling follow a legislated format that specifies a set of compulsory marks, for which the lion passant designates Sterling (not a lion rampant as you are showing) and the crown designates the Sheffield assay office. Especially after the appearance of electro-plate in the 1840s, many manufacturers applied marks with similarities to our official hallmarks as a cynical way to enhance their appeal to customers.
Your first mark is a classic example. The array of marks with plumes, crown and lion is designed to look impressive, with mimicry of the kinds of symbols seen on British Sterling silver, but they’re pseudo-hallmarks for American silver plate. The maker is E.G. Webster and Son of New York and Brooklyn, founded in 1860 by Elizur G. Webster. Those particular marks date between 1886-1928 as Webster & Son but continued to be used after that date when the company became part of the International Silver Company until their trademark was changed to Webster Wilcox in 1961.
The second mark is, as said, for Wallace Silversmiths, originally founded as Robert Wallace in 1834 in Wallingford, Connecticut. After a couple of name changes, they became ‘Wallace Silversmiths’ in 1956. That particular mark was used on both silverplate and Sterling, but Sterling pieces would be additionally marked with the word ‘Sterling’ and/or ‘925’.
The third mark is for Arthur Krupp Metallwarenfabrik, founded in 1843 in Berndorf, Austria but with later factories in Esslingen, Germany and Milan, Italy. The key mark with the ‘BE’ initials is for the Esslingen factory and dates to c1919-1927. It’s a rarely-seen mark used for their high-quality silver-plated (Alpacca-Silber I) items.
PS: If you have other items that need identifying, it usually helps if you show the piece itself rather than just the mark(s). That often helps narrow down the country where the piece was made (and sometimes the timeframe) and reduces the amount of searching to find the mark.
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