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Silverware as exonumia
Weiss
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When I was a kid, I saw a video of silverware manufacturing on Dusty's Treehouse or Mr. Rogers. I was already a coin collector, so I was struck (no pun intended) by how similar the manufacturing process is to that of coins.
They both start as the pure precious metal. The metal is mixed with other metals, usually copper, to achieve the required alloy.
That alloy is then rolled to the correct thickness. Blanks are cut. The blanks are washed and polished. Then those blanks are struck with engraved obverse and reverse dies.
Here's a more recent video that shows the process.
And there are lots of historical tie-ins with silver and goldsmithing and coin collecting. Like the rumored Martha Washington silver set used in our early coinage, or Brasher and other "regulators" who, as smiths, rejected, accepted, or even designed early coinage.
Anyway, I came across several pieces yesterday that were even more coin-like in their design and I started to think of how many similarities these pieces have in particular with commemorative coins. Beyond the material and manufacturing, they feature art designed to commemorate a specific location or event. They often have a date. They retain their pedigreed shape though they are unlikely to be used in that capacity (as coins or eating utensils), rather they're designed to be collected, displayed, and appreciated for their artistry.
Or am I just crazy?
They both start as the pure precious metal. The metal is mixed with other metals, usually copper, to achieve the required alloy.
That alloy is then rolled to the correct thickness. Blanks are cut. The blanks are washed and polished. Then those blanks are struck with engraved obverse and reverse dies.
Here's a more recent video that shows the process.
And there are lots of historical tie-ins with silver and goldsmithing and coin collecting. Like the rumored Martha Washington silver set used in our early coinage, or Brasher and other "regulators" who, as smiths, rejected, accepted, or even designed early coinage.
Anyway, I came across several pieces yesterday that were even more coin-like in their design and I started to think of how many similarities these pieces have in particular with commemorative coins. Beyond the material and manufacturing, they feature art designed to commemorate a specific location or event. They often have a date. They retain their pedigreed shape though they are unlikely to be used in that capacity (as coins or eating utensils), rather they're designed to be collected, displayed, and appreciated for their artistry.
Or am I just crazy?
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
--Severian the Lame
--Severian the Lame
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Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
I however do not consider spoons to be exonumia.
Just be careful as too much spooning can lead toward forking which could get quite messy
Bought a candlestick from CRO once.
Was it a Sample or just for your "Butcher, Baker, & Candlestick Maker" type set
Here is one from him:
Inscribed in the bowl: Pride of the Desert/ over a Joshua Tree/ Goldfield under
Note the mining scenes front and back.
Signed on the back
--Severian the Lame
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Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
There is a subclass called coin silver, silverware, candlesticks, etc. that is 90% silver.
It, most likely, was made by melting down coins of the day, and fabricating them into the silver item.
Take a bag of coins, melt them, make something.
Not a great picture - the toning is nicer than shown.
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This battleship sailed the sea of my breakfast oatmeal.
They aren't there now, but looking on eBay I guess the mint did them for the Statehood Quarters.
You can buy the complete set in case you missed out.
Or buy them individually
I always liked the shooting position depicted on the top of Ft. Dearborn.
Charlotte engraving.
BTW-good one, Braodstruck!
Only when it is Geo Washington's personal silverware left over from what he donated to the mint; Paul revere's flatware because it is PR's; colloid coins attached to the stem serving as a spoon; and counterstamped flatware that matches the counterstamp on the coin. otherwise AY
Definition of colloid
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1
: a gelatinous or mucinous substance found normally in the thyroid and also in diseased tissue
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2
a : a substance that consists of particles dispersed throughout another substance which are too small for resolution with an ordinary light microscope but are incapable of passing through a semipermeable membrane
b : a mixture consisting of a colloid together with the medium in which it is dispersed
Only when it is Geo Washington's personal silverware left over from what he donated to the mint; Paul revere's flatware because it is PR's; colloid coins attached to the stem serving as a spoon; and counterstamped flatware that matches the counterstamp on the coin. otherwise AY
I would love to have a piece of 18th century silver (preferably a good quality mug) made by one of the regulators of colonial American circulating silver or gold (like Brasher).
Or a genuine, undisputed piece from Revere--but those are stratospheric.
Until then, I'll have to make do with my achingly slow process of acquiring mugs by other pre-revolutionary war 18th century silversmiths...
--Severian the Lame
Here's a sexy spoon:
That pattern is called Love Disarmed and is one of the best IMO. It's been reproduced but the originals are super crisp.
I don't know about exonumia unless a direct coin correlation, but my favorite Dealer lets me buy out of his scrap bucket at spot plus 5%. It's a win win for us as I think he nets spot minus 5% from the refiner. I love to add legit antiques to my holdings at these price levels. 100% of the time I'd rather add a gorgeous piece of flatware over a generic silver piece when I'm buying silver. Man, I remember 30-40 dollar silver brought out some killer pieces I'd never seen before and was able to save from the furnace. It's pretty clear the retail market for valuable flatware is pretty much over for now, but I remember this sort of thing enjoying a serious premium that ship has sailed. Perfect for buying I'd say.
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Nay. A different collectible entirely.
Yes, although spoons that were U.S. Mint souvenirs would be exonumia in my book. I suppose coins made by the mints shown on spoons in the year the spoons were made would be considered exospoonia to the spoon collectors.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
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CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
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Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
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More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Hows bout this one?
What if that Bustie were an 1838-O ???
Here is my Teddy Roosevelt rough rider spoon, which was probably a campaign item, either when he was running for president or vice president, or when he was running for governor of New York.
While not spoons, this is a bookmark that I consider cool exonumia.
That's Reed & Barton
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