posted 03-12-2006 02:45 PM            

Found 2 candle holders marked Denmark the other day. The maker was Cohr and from his mark I found out it was Fredericia Cohn 1893- 1937. They are marked with his mark and then what looks to me to be a torch. But they are not marked ATLA for his silverplate, unless the torch was the mark for that company. The same week I found a fork marked DANA then DFA then the same or similar torch mark. Any ideas what the torch or whatever it is represents?

posted 03-12-2006 03:39 PM            

According to Tardy, a 1961 law mandated that Danish plated items be marked "silver plated" or "electroplated." That suggests that no such law regulated plate marking previously. The ATLA mark would, I presume, not have been required. However, a 1888 law required that silver items contain the maker's mark and a finess mark, either a number indicating silver content in thousandths or the Danish mark, which guaranteed a finess of .826.

Since your peice contains none of the required silver marks and was made before the 1961 plate law, it would seem that it is probably plate. The word "Denmark" stamped in English suggests that perhaps it was made for export. I should say, though, that reasoning from the negative (ie, what is missing) is always a bit risky.

posted 03-12-2006 05:06 PM            

Sorry, I don't have a source on Danis makers' marks.

posted 03-12-2006 05:39 PM            

Cheryl