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Older Coin Silver... Who? ..When?

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Author	Topic: Older Coin Silver... Who? ..When?
OWK Posts: 69 Registered: Apr 2005	posted 05-30-2005 09:10 AM [26-0467] I recently acquired this spoon from the bottom of a box of antique shop junk. I'm having difficulty attributing it. I would assume it is late 18th or early 19th century based on the engraving, and on what I can see of the maker's mark. The maker's name seems to end in "...haven" but I'm uncertain. Any of you good folks able to make out this mark and give me an approximate age? IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 05-30-2005 09:54 AM I looks like the mark of John Walraven (1771-1814), who worked in Baltimore c 1792-1814. IP: Logged
OWK Posts: 69 Registered: Apr 2005	posted 05-30-2005 10:01 AM Outstanding. That is almost certainly who it is. (purchased in southern Pa.) Thanks so much. IP: Logged
OWK Posts: 69 Registered: Apr 2005	posted 05-30-2005 10:17 AM Any way to tell if it is earlier or later Walraven? IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 05-30-2005 11:22 AM Walraven worked 1792-1814; the spoon could have been made anytimng during that period, but most likely 1795-1805. IP: Logged
OWK Posts: 69 Registered: Apr 2005	posted 05-30-2005 03:41 PM Thanks again, you've all been very helpful. Is Walraven a prolific smith? In other words, is this a rare piece that I should hold on to? IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 05-30-2005 06:46 PM He evidently made a fair amount of silver - not too rare, but he is highly regarded and Baltimore silver is collectable. Whether you keep it or not should be up to you and not depend on the opinion of someone else, who might not have the same set of values as you do. Personally, although a dealer might buy something he thinks he can resell, as a collector, I wouldn't buy anything I wouldn't want to keep, bargain or no (and since you found it "in a box of junk," you probably got one). IP: Logged
OWK Posts: 69 Registered: Apr 2005	posted 05-30-2005 07:02 PM It certainly was a bargain in my eyes (6 bucks) Thanks again for the opinion and the advice. I'm relatively new to silver, but I sure have a bug for it. Particularly the older stuff. There's nothing like the sense of history to be gained by holding something a man crafted of precious metal 200+ years ago, not five miles from where I sit. I just purchased a set of 10 different spoons in an online auction that the seller identified as sterling, but I can tell from the prominently photographed drops that all (or at least most) are colonial American (several rat tails, and some decorated drops as well). I'll share some photos when they arive. (I am anxiously awaiting the package) Best, Dan IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2334 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 05-31-2005 04:45 PM You are living in a good area to see Maryland silver as it is my understanding that both the Maryland Historical Society and the Baltimore Museum of Art have collections of Maryland silver and I would assume good reference materials. Some excellent books on Maryland silver are: A: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Maryland Silver in the Collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art, with text by Jennifer Faulds Goldsborough; B: Silver in Maryland by Jennifer Faulds Goldsborough; and C: Maryland Silversmiths 1715-1830 by J. Hall Pleasants and Howard Sill The last book was reprinted by Robert Alan Green in 1972. The Diary of William Faris: The Daily Life of an Annapolis Clockmaker and Silversmith is also an interesting book and I believe will be the subject of an exhibition at the Maryland Historical Society sometime next year. Your bright cut spoon was a great find. I believe this style followed an English design, but I do not know in which country this design first appeared. IP: Logged

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