Posted 12 years ago
Pearl_Fire
(7 items)
I am just curious what the "C" mark in the little coat of arms symbol on the back means. It says, in full:
Sterling
C
Weight
30
This was my Grandmother's sterling silver dish, possibly my Great Grandmother's before that. It's not in good shape; dents, etc. My Grandmother(s) grew up in the Baltimore/Delaware/Pennsylvania area. Could be anywhere in the from 1890-1940 time period.
Just curious about the Silver Conpany!
Thank you!!
It's a lovely little basket! Off the top of my head, I don't know what maker the C inside the shield/chevron represents. But under that it says Weighted, not weight. The 'ed' is quite faint but can be seen when you enlarge the picture. What the makers did was to create these types of items from sterling silver, but they are called hollow ware. The hollow space inside the pedestal is filled or weighted with wax, sand or anything else that would give the item added heft and keep it from tipping, over without having to add more sterling. There is no way to know the exact weight of items like this without opening them up and removing whatever is inside.
I believe the 30 is either a pattern number, or identifies this particular basket in a set of other items of the same pattern. Sorry I can't tell you with the maker or actual age. But if I do happen to see the "C" mark, I'll post it back here. Here is a link for searching maker's marks that might help you. If not, try doing a google search for sterling maker's marks and checking out some of the pages you find there. Thanks for showing your piece and good luck with your research!
http://www.silvercollection.it/
Chinablue is correct on all accounts. It's weighted. The C inside the chevron is the makers mark. Couldn't easily find it. The 30 is the pattern. Not much left to say except good luck searching for the maker. Tiffany uses Chevrons :) ! But it also would have more markings. Steve
Novels book, quote, By 1830 the words COIN, PURE COIN, DOLLAR, STANDARD, PREMIUM, or the letters "C" or "D" were placed on silver to indicate that it was 900 out of 1000 parts silver.