first whole spoon

Klclark3

Banned
Apr 20, 2013
357
524
Kentucky
Detector(s) used
Discovery 3300, AT GOLD, ACE 250
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting

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Upvote 5
any markings on the back?
 

I'm afraid to clean it.
 

I'm afraid to clean it.
Yeah I'd be very careful with that. I had one similar to that that just fell apart after I got it out of the ground. Things like that don't react well once you pull them from the dirt. I love that thing and it looks very old
 

By the pics it looks very brittle. If anything just a light soapy water clean and rinse then I'd leave it as is. Nice spoon and it looks old. You can sometimes roughly date them by the shape and manufacturing process anyway. (:
 

What is the best guess here - pewter ? I'm sure there are a number of very experienced members who can advise you on how to safely
clean that spoon - Iron patch ? or Bill D VA. - those guys score the early stuff regularly . Great find ! I'm guessing 1790's - 1820's.
 

What is the best guess here - pewter ? I'm sure there are a number of very experienced members who can advise you on how to safely clean that spoon - Iron patch ? or Bill D VA. - those guys score the early stuff regularly . Great find ! I'm guessing 1790's - 1820's.
Definitely a colonial pewter spoon. Get to it before it flakes away! You'll need to stabilize the edges that are brittle. A guy I know uses super glue (& a microscope). I've also heard to use a mixture of Elmer's & water. I'll be interested to hear any others, I have a couple buttons that need to be preserved.
 

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Id love to know how to easily persevere it with something I got laying around. I got glue but I wanna make sure its the right way
 

Id love to know how to easily persevere it with something I got laying around. I got glue but I wanna make sure its the right way
I have no experience with old pewter but I'm sure someone on here will help you out with what's best to do! (:
 

I used a 30% water and 70% elmers glue mixture on some pewter buttons that were is tough shape. Soaked them for two days, dabbed excess off with tissue and air dryed them. Happy with the results.
 

That's a great looking rat tail pewter spoon. They were commonly in use from about 1715 through the 1770s. Yours was probably cast locally as opposed to being an import. As you know, they're very brittle so please be careful when handling it. I honestly am not sure about the best way to preserve it, but I'm sure others out there including my partner Dan can give you some solid advice. I know that some kind of Elmers's glue concoction works well on pewter buttons, and it may be the ticket for your spoon as well. Good luck and let us know what method you end up using.
 

Using a concoction of elmers wood glue and water, it made it look better not much is brittling off. So if it's local cast does that mean probally a negative on any kind of mark?
 

Using a concoction of elmers wood glue and water, it made it look better not much is brittling off. So if it's local cast does that mean probally a negative on any kind of mark?

Probably, but there's always the possibility of a local mark.
 

White glue! It dries clear.
I treat all my pewter with it.
Wood glue will continue to turn more and more yellow over time.

attachment-1-3.png
 

Very nice find, I hope you can preserve it.
 

I couldn't tell it was pewter from the pic on my phone.Now I see it. Probably no mark ,age mid-late 17th century is my guess. I preserved my pewter spoon with a light coat of poly,seems to work great. I'd really hit that area,probably some kg's hanging around:icon_thumright:
 

Already got those creade :)
 

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