✅ SOLVED Pewter spoon handle age?

[JohnDee1]

Hey y’all I dug this spoon handle, and I am wondering its age. I know that can be difficult due to me not having all of it, along with me damaging it. Regardless any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

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[A2coins]

Bump hmmm not alot to go on do youe see any markings at all

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Due to the discoloration and how the metal is breaking down, I'm thinking it's more likely to be made of German Silver or Nickel Silver.
Of course, the 'red color' I see may just be your soil in the south.

Dave

"The German Silver was named after Malliot and Chorier who discovered it in France Circa in 1820. The main reason why it was called German silver is because of its Silver – white color. Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named due to its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated. The name "German silver" refers to its development by 19th-century German metalworkers from the Chinese alloy known as paktong or baiting.

Nickel Silver first became popular as a base metal for silver-plated cutlery and other silverware, notably the electroplated wares called EPNS (electroplated nickel silver). It is used in zippers, better-quality keys, costume jewelry, for making musical instruments (e.g., flutes, clarinets), and is preferred for the track in electrically powered model railway layouts, as its oxide is conductive. It is widely used in the production of coins."

 

[JohnDee1]

Thanks for the input ya'll, I suppose one can never be completely certain with mangled objects. Regardless I will keep looking!

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Antiquarian wrote:
> Due to the discoloration and how the metal is breaking down, I'm thinking it's more likely to be made

> of German Silver or Nickel Silver. Of course, the 'red color' I see may just be your soil in the south.
​

Your guess (you said "may be") about the color is correct. I was born, raised, and dug relics in Atlanta GA, so I've seen lots of relics come out of the ground with that color on them. The finder (JohnDee1) lives in Georgia... so the color you are seeing on the pewter spoon's handle is (in this case) not nickel-silver patina, it is definitely the famous "red earth of Tara," as Rhett Butler called it when speaking to Scarlett.
You can watch that scene here:
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/eb3bdf82-c512-4dc7-b1f4-75db2e5ed7f7

JohnDee1, your pewter spoon handle appears to have a set of hallmarks stamped into it, so it most likely dates from the 1700s into the very-early 1800s.

 

[JohnDee1]

Thank you for the further input.