Spoon maker ID

[je177]

I recognize that this is a spoon, or more accurately a ladle, that I dug from an old homesite the other day. The makers mark on the back seems to read U.S.S Co. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this maker. I thought that maybe it was United States steel corporation, but I haven't found much on the Internet about that mark on silverware. Thanks for looking!

 

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[coinman123]

I can not find much of them, probably late 1800's (1890's) to early 1900's. I'm guessing that they were only around for a short time or was not a big or well known company. I'm guessing USS stands for United States Silver Company (though I'm not sure)
This kind of silver plated copper spoon with that kind of pattern is probably from the late 19th century to early 20th century, it used to being silver colored but the silver plated has long since been obscured or lost due to the copper's corrosion and the soil. I have found very similar spoons in late 19th-early 20th century trash piles and they looked the same as yours and I was able to get them to shine again by putting aluminum jelly which brought out most of the silver plating obscured by corrosion and apparently lost, I'm not say that this is the case here but it may work.

Very cool spoon and I hope that someone else can help ID a maker, I tried and did not find much, though I did find this, it is probably not the same company (though it looks like it may be) be but it may be a start...
Here is what the seller said confirming the "rarity" of this maker's mark, “Only time in 5 years we have come across this Maker's Mark. Set weighs 17 grams which is very heavy for a 1st Lt. set and is the Coffin style. In pristine condition which is remarkable for a set that is close to 100 years old.”
WWI Sterling First Lieutenant Rank Insignia Set by U s s Co Extremely RARE | eBay

Coinman123,

 

[nhbenz]

I agree with basically all of the above, but the U.S. Silver co. (not United States) is the maker I believe. This was a name used by Oneida in the timeframe mentioned. The United States Silver co. was a different, later, company.

 

[GpSnoopy]

It appears that the U.S. Silver Co. was a Trademark of Oneida (20th century). U.S.S. Co could be a short form

Edit: Missed the post by nhbenz