posted on May 12, 2001 10:07:00 AM new
Does anybody have a good online source for identifying European hallmarks? I found some gorgeous flatware that even replacements.com can't identify. It's hallmarked, but apparently the marks are not from the U.S. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
posted on May 12, 2001 11:22:26 AM new
Just in cae somebody might recognize this pattern, here are the scans of the front of the fork and the hallmarks on the back. I hope this works...if not, maybe somebody will help me out.Thanks.
posted on May 12, 2001 12:07:24 PM new
I think they are Scandinavian. Norway, Denmark, or Sweden. Possibly German as a stretch. Modern of recent origin.
Sorry I don't have the time right now to try to find the manufacture.
posted on May 12, 2001 01:21:27 PM new
Usually, though not always, in European silver a two digit number indicates electro-plate. The piece appears to be northern European, probably something really obscure like Eastonian. You can drive yourself crazy trying to track down these marks. So I would put it up and call it European silverplate. Also, what is the length of the fork? That is the real give away as European flatware is much larger than US. When you put this up, the tines should be at the bottom of the pic not the top. That is the fairly standard way of doing things. What is the mark on the knife blade and is it plate or stainless? Good luck.
posted on May 12, 2001 02:59:24 PM new
Thanks, all, for the help. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear in the British hallmarks at the site that was suggested, but I'll keep trying.
The dinner fork in the scan is 7-3/8" long, which seems about "normal" for a dinner fork. It doesn't look like a salad fork, at least not the ones that usually come with American sets. So I guess this will remain a mystery!
Thanks for the tip about displaying pieces with the "working end" down. I haven't been doing that, and it does look much better.
posted on May 13, 2001 02:32:09 PM new
Thinking it over, there seemed to be some Cyrilic letters on the back. In my experience this indicates Russian. So if it were mine, I would present it as Soviet made for distribution in Baltic Countries. That would explain why most of the marks are in Roman alphabet. And the marks have the letter that sounds like 'tz', which indicates central metal fabricators. From the length of the fork it sound European. Try using the word 'continental' to describe it. Dale
