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tline3open  Interesting mark

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Author Topic:   Interesting mark
TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-29-2001 06:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I have just received a spoon I bought out of curiosity. It is inscribed ROGERS BROS incuse on one line and SOLD IN ALBATA incuse in a second line below.

I think it is coin silver but it might be silver plate (based on references in Rainwater indicating that Rogers Brothers made a lot of silver plate. The style is plain fiddle back with rounded shoulders. It is very thin. Anyway are there any guesses about the mark?

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11520
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 03-29-2001 09:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Probably not silver or silver plate.

Albata - Alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc, forming a silvery white metal, imitating silver, but with no silver content. Per: The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects ....

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TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-30-2001 09:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the home run. Now I wonder what the phrase means. Does anyone know if smiths made samples? The only meaning I can think of is that it is informing the reader (customer) that the style is sold in that alloy.

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Brent

Posts: 1507
Registered: May 99

iconnumber posted 03-30-2001 10:09 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Brent     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Are you sure it says "Sold In", and not "Solid"? "Solid" would make more sense, and the word was used a lot for this type of alloy. You often find spoons marked "Solid Silver" or "Solid Alaska (Nevada, Indian, etc.) Silver" that are actually just variations on the same theme. They are not actual silver, but they are "solid" and there is no plating to wear through.

Just a thought.

Brent

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TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-30-2001 11:02 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, it is SOLD IN ALBATA, with the proper space between SOLD and IN. No question about that.
The font for the phrase and the ROGERS BROS is the same. There might have been an apostrophe between the O and the S in BRO S
since the spacing is similar to what I just typed.
Thanks for your interest and response.

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Paul Lemieux

Posts: 1792
Registered: Apr 2000

iconnumber posted 03-30-2001 05:57 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Paul Lemieux     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Perhaps SOLD IN ALBATA means the piece was sold in unplated form, for whatever reason.

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Stephen

Posts: 625
Registered: Jan 2003

iconnumber posted 03-04-2003 01:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Stephen     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
TGS: Do you still have this? Does it tarnish?

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TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-04-2003 03:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I do but I may have some trouble locating it.
I will check it out to see if I can answer your question.

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TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-04-2003 04:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I found the spoon. It is hard to discuss tarnish because I have kept it in a pouch made of tarnish proof cloth. It has some blackish discolerations which would seem to yield to soap and water and rubbing. I think there is no doubt that it is ALBATA. I still tend to think that it was a sample of some kind.

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Stephen

Posts: 625
Registered: Jan 2003

iconnumber posted 03-05-2003 08:07 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Stephen     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That certainly makes sense. Albata appears to be a term used in marketing materials, but not in any of the Rogers marks. I found the following which may be relevant:

  • An 1857 catalog of the Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co. (1853-1862) showing flatware with "extra heavy plate on genuine Albata."
  • A Rogers Bros. Mfg. Co. advertisement about 1862, just prior to the taking over of the firm by the Meriden Britannia Co., showing flatware "plated with pure silver on genuine Albata."
  • An 1868 broadside for the Meriden Britannia Co., showing silver plated wares (1847 Rogers Bros.), states that "all our goods are made of the finest quality of Albata."
  • An undated advertisement of the Meriden Britannia Co. stating that they are "Manufacturers of Britannia, Albata & German Silver Ware, both Plated and Unplated."

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TGS

Posts: 31
Registered: Sep 99

iconnumber posted 03-06-2003 10:00 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for TGS     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wonderful news! Thanks so very much for the information. I had about given up finding anything to support the validity of that mark.

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