Hallmark on Spoon

[ScrugneysGunDogs]

I found a spoon today at an old cellar hole. It's not in great shape and I wonder if it is steel or silver (it's pretty dirty!). It has some marks on the handle. To my untrained eye, it looks like:
a star, a lower case e, an "o" sitting on an "A", unknown blob?, H, F



I found a match for "HF" as HF (Rowlands & Frazer -Thomas Henry Frazer- [L] ) end 19th c./ beginning 20th c

but I have no clue what the other stuff means? Can anyone enlighten me?

NOTE: the picture is upside down. If I flip it over, the shadows don't look right! D'oh!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[trikikiwi]

I've spent quite a bit of time researching the marks (not knowing 100% for sure, what they are) then I just tried a different tack and Google led me back to Treasurenet!


http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=244568.0


Cheers, Mike

 

[ScrugneysGunDogs]

Thanks, Mike - that's the exact markings! I did some electrolysis on the spoon today and took a new picture.
It didn't stick to a refridgerator magnet (but it isn't a very strong magnet). Nickel silver from 1896 makes sense. That's probably the right time period for the place I found it.
The only marking that's questionable is the one just before the "HF". (a deer or horse, perhaps?)

 

[CRUSADER]

Welcome

Technically its not a Hallmark which is a term reserved for Gold & Silver. Its a 'pretender', a fancy makers mark made to look similar to a Hallmark. Nickel silver or German Silver has no silver content, sometimes referred to as poor mans silver. So the once silver 'looking' piece with the at first glance; Hallmark may have fooled some people that you had good taste & money Or even fooled someone into paying too much for the goods.

 

[trikikiwi]

I agree Cru I think it's pretty obvious, looking at the corrosion of the spoon,
that it isn't Silver, or better
The important thing is, it's a piece of history.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

OMG an exact match.

 

[mcogan / L.I. Mongo Mike]

Your spoon was made of White Metal, tin and other metals then electroplated.
I can't find the manufactures mark but a good place to start is:
http://www.925-1000.com/index.html