Colonial Spoon Makers Mark ID

[RelicHunter97]

Colonial Spoon Maker's Mark ID

Hello Folks! I found this spoon a while ago, and I've been having difficulty finding out who made it. It appears to date from 1775-1800, and so far I have come up with two possibilities; Enos Reeves, and Edward Revere, Paul Revere's nephew. Because I live in Massachusetts, Edward Revere is a more likely possibility, but I simply have no clue. Thanks for any help in advance! -Anthony.

 

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[CRUSADER]

Here are the clues I see~:

WW - normally the mans name, like 'W'illiam 'W'ilson (bad example but you get the point)
To (obvious)
Crossed 'I' Meaning J (the '=' bit is confusing) P, so lets assume JP.

So Man initials WW to women initials JP.

Therefore, a 'love gift', pior to Marriage.

The Lion on the reverse, is British (or good copy) sterling Silver but without the assayers mark makes its a stylist guess of about ?? (need the spoon bowl for a better guess)

My guess 1790s...(+ or - 30 years)

 

[RelicHunter97]

Thanks for the info Cru!
Didn't know that little thing about the crossed I! Very interesting!
-Anthony

 

[capt-zero]

Frequently American and Canadian silversmiths put English looking marks called "pseudo-silver" marks on their wares to give them authencity. England was held as the benchmark of silverwork in the colonies until the discovery of the Comstock Lode in the late 19th century (the first significant source of native American silver and copper in the US). The items marked as such were generally 90% or better. Below is an example of an American pseudo-silver hallmark; dated around 1870.



Notice the beaver!

 

[RelicHunter97]

Yes, I came across pseudo marks in my research.
Where is that photo from? I have a silver fork with pseudo marks, and one of the marks is a beaver, haven't found another example anywhere.

 

[capt-zero]

The photo is from a table spoon I found at a garage sale a while back. Don't really know anything about it. It's in bad condition and has early 19th century styling (acorn shaped bowl and signs of soldering at the bowl attachment). It tested at 90%. Not suprising for those days, as the only source of silver then was recycled coin silver; most notably Spanish reales.

 

[RelicHunter97]

Ah right, coin silver. I shudder at the thought, all those beautiful coins, melted down.
Does anyone have any info on the initials, or a source that might identify them?

 

[RelicHunter97]

Iffen you don't mind, I'm going to bump this. I've continued with my research greatly and still have come up with no definitive results!