Antique Silver Spoons

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As the oldest type of flatware, spoons have existed in some form or another since Ancient Rome, at least. In medieval times, spoons were given as baptism presents in wealthy circles. Because inns did not have anything as luxurious as spoons for...
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As the oldest type of flatware, spoons have existed in some form or another since Ancient Rome, at least. In medieval times, spoons were given as baptism presents in wealthy circles. Because inns did not have anything as luxurious as spoons for their guests, innkeepers expected their well-heeled customers to supply their own. Indeed, the phrase “born with a silver spoon in his mouth” actually reveals quite a bit about the time—whether or not one owned a spoon, not to mention its quality and value, spoke volumes about an individual’s socio-economic status. As with all other metalware, spoons marked as sterling silver are 92.5 percent silver plus 7.5 percent copper and other trace elements. This standard originated in England in the 13th century and got the backing of British law in 1300, when Edward I mandated that sterling silver bear a hallmark in order to prevent fraud. Hundreds of years later, in the 1840s, this standard became increasingly important with the development of electroplating, which required significantly less silver to produce something that looked like solid sterling. Suddenly, spoons and other utensils were mass-produced, with a wider range of silver content than ever before. The sterling-silver standard is still enforced in England today by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths. Until the mid-19th century, spoons were typically the only form of flatware used at the dining table (knives were shared while forks, though introduced in 16th-century Italy, didn’t catch on for a few hundred years). The earliest surviving spoons of note are the Apostle spoons, which generally date from the 15th century. Each bears a small, full-figure bust on the end of its stem. These silver spoons were produced in sets of 13—one for each of the 12 Apostles, plus a larger “master” spoon for Christ. Individual apostle spoons were often given as a christening present to children who had been named after a specific apostle, and sometimes these antique spoons...
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