Anyone good with deciphering sterling marks?
- Thread starter Jonathan
- Start date
Metro Retro Vintage
VFG Member
Gorgeous nouveau thistle! Likely a citrin or cairngorm stone. Are you able to post a larger shot of the hallmarks?
That is beautiful!
lkranieri
VFG Member
While I waited to hear from you I tried to figure out what the marks are. Because of the thistle design I assumed they might be Scottish, but when I looked through Scottish silver marks I saw the rampant lion and the thistle were hallmarks of their silver. I didn't recognize that in any of your marks, but had an inspiration then had the idea to turn the marks upside down from how they appear in your photo. Now the first symbol looks like a lion (tail curling up in the left side), doesn't it? The end symbol looks vaguely like a script letter "L" (which I think indicates the year(s) in which it was made) and I have no idea what the middle one is...a trefoil of some sort?
I will repost it and see what others think.
I will repost it and see what others think.
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lkranieri
VFG Member
Here is a reply from the other forum...
- Might be Chester silver made by Charles Horner. He made many Scottish style pieces. I can see an H there. Wait for others to chime in though.
HousefulWell-Known Member
New
Had a look around and think it is Horner. The lion denotes it is silver, the shield is Chester, the other will be the date letter and CH for Charles Horner.
I see a bird in flight as well. 925-1000 is my go-to for hallmarks online, and the CH for Charles Horner looks quite different: https://www.925-1000.com/dlChester.html
But Chester is a good bet I think, the lion works and the Chester mark as well.
But Chester is a good bet I think, the lion works and the Chester mark as well.
lkranieri
VFG Member
I can see the C.H. in the rather smushed mark to the right (in the original photo), but I think it got a little distorted by the pin.
The other marks seem to be a bit of a Rorschach test for us.
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Metro Retro Vintage
VFG Member
If the piece is Chester, then the letter date is for 1911. Although the frame shape is not exact for that year, the marks don't always impress perfectly into the metal.
Jonathan
VFG Member
This is all very interesting because it fits in with the donor's hearsay provenance. She thought it was probably a birthday or wedding gift to her Scottish grandmother who was born May 9, 1891 from her English fiance/husband who she married on December 23, 1911. He was killed in a shell blast at Cambrias on November 30, 1917. This other brooch made from French centime coins and all dating from 1916 came from the same donor and was thought to have been a gift from her grandfather to her grandmother either as a brooch, or as individual coins she had made into a brooch:
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Jonathan
VFG Member
Just found a similar one by Charles Horner: https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/781...uery=charles+horner&ref=sr_gallery-1-17&pro=1
lkranieri
VFG Member
Jonathan, when you are next at your museum, can you please get a close/macro picture, with your ‘good camera,’ of the mark on the right. Some people see a bird in flight, some people see a ‘Y’ with feet, but I remain firmly attached to a script ‘L.’ As that is where the date indicator is, I would like to settle that issue.