Found old spoon, is it colonial?

[NHDirtShark]

Looks old, thin, maybe pewter. No hallmarks.
Thoughts?

 

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[crashbandicoot]

Looks old, thin, maybe pewter. No hallmarks.
Thoughts?

Cool old spoon,but that,s all I got!

 

[Digger RJ]

Looks old, thin, maybe pewter. No hallmarks.
Thoughts?

Same, Cool Old Spoon!!! Congrats!!!

 

[vpnavy]

I moved ya from TODAY'S FINDS! over to WHAT IS IT? for more exposure.

 

[CRUSADER]

Looks copper to me, may have been plated at one time.

 

[Older The Better]

I’m no silverware expert but I’ve found one or two with similar shape and based on the hallmark of one it was civil war or just after

 

[NHDirtShark]

I’m no silverware expert but I’ve found one or two with similar shape and based on the hallmark of one it was civil war or just afterView attachment 2029909View attachment 2029911View attachment 2029910

That looks very similar for sure.

I can't see any hall marks, but the spoon may have had a silver wash.
Anyway, a great sign of things to come. Crazy that it was right on the surface.

 

[DCMatt]

That looks very similar for sure.

I can't see any hall marks, but the spoon may have had a silver wash.
Anyway, a great sign of things to come. Crazy that it was right on the surface.

They've made that fiddleback pattern for centuries. You can still buy them today. The base metal looks like copper so it's silver-plate or electroplate making it unlikely to be colonial era. Without any markings it is impossible to know for sure. IMO, as a surface find, that makes it even more unlikely to be colonial era...

 

[NHDirtShark]

They've made that fiddleback pattern for centuries. You can still buy them today. The base metal looks like copper so it's silver-plate or electroplate making it unlikely to be colonial era. Without any markings it is impossible to know for sure. IMO, as a surface find, that makes it even more unlikely to be colonial era...

Yeah, good point about it being a surface find.

However, a good sign I suppose that something even this old was just poking out of the ground.

 

[pepperj]

That looks very similar for sure.

I can't see any hall marks, but the spoon may have had a silver wash.
Anyway, a great sign of things to come. Crazy that it was right on the surface.

If you where hunting in cropped fields, yes it could very well be just on the surface.

 

[NHDirtShark]

If you where hunting in cropped fields, yes it could very well be just on the surface.

Nope, it was right next to an old cellar hole. about 1 foot away from the foundation stones.

 

[pepperj]

They've made that fiddleback pattern for centuries. You can still buy them today. The base metal looks like copper so it's silver-plate or electroplate making it unlikely to be colonial era. Without any markings it is impossible to know for sure. IMO, as a surface find, that makes it even more unlikely to be colonial era...

In a worked field, it's totally possible that the a find as old, or older can be laying there.

 

[pepperj]

Nope, it was right next to an old cellar hole. about 1 foot away from the foundation stones.

Maybe it was a predug find.
I've gotten large cents just under leaf litter.

 

[DCMatt]

Maybe it was a predug find.
I've gotten large cents just under leaf litter.

I've never had that kind of luck. And it seems nobody plows anymore... Not in places where I get to dig...

 

[Red-Coat]

Cool find, but you can be sure your spoon is not ‘Colonial’ period. It has what is known as a ‘fiddleback’ handle and a bowl with ‘finned’ shoulders. The fiddleback handle originated in France and, around 1800, English makers amalgamated it with Old English Patterns (OEP) which had ‘fins’ on the shoulders of the bowl like yours. American makers began adopting that design during the 1820s-1830s and it was in use for quite some time, but fell out of favour during the Civil War due to metal shortages and the need to conserve materials for the war effort.

I would think the spoon is likely ‘nickel-silver’ (a high-copper base metal alloy with a silvery appearance) which didn’t come into usage until the 1830s as unplated metal and then commonly as the base for electroplate from the 1840s onwards.

 

[NHDirtShark]

Cool find, but you can be sure your spoon is not ‘Colonial’ period. It has what is known as a ‘fiddleback’ handle and a bowl with ‘finned’ shoulders. The fiddleback handle originated in France and, around 1800, English makers amalgamated it with Old English Patterns (OEP) which had ‘fins’ on the shoulders of the bowl like yours. American makers began adopting that design during the 1820s-1830s and it was in use for quite some time, but fell out of favour during the Civil War due to metal shortages and the need to conserve materials for the war effort.

I would think the spoon is likely ‘nickel-silver’ (a high-copper base metal alloy with a silvery appearance) which didn’t come into usage until the 1830s as unplated metal and then commonly as the base for electroplate from the 1840s onwards.

Thank you! I think you are spot on.