The Lord Marcovan Bowl

asheland

I wanted to show this new addition to my collection, thanks to Lord M.
At our yearly get-together, he brought this sterling silver bowl along and offered it to me at a really nice price!
It has dark-side appeal as it's British and the hallmarks are like little coins, in fact, the young head Victoria mark (the duty mark) is larger than normally found on the flatware of the period and it's probably very comparable to a silver Maundy penny in size!

It was made by Henry Wilkinson, London, 1857.
The crest, (which we all thought might have been for a church) apparently is an Irish crest. I may in incorrect on that, I am not that knowledgeable about family crests. it's cool none the less. (and hand engraved)

The bowl (or soup plate)

bronzemat

Thats nice, especially the markings.

asheland

Thank you.

Stork

messydesk

Neat! And here I thought it was going to be a bowl with a hole in it.

asheland

dadams

Now that is a nice Vicky!! Could only be sweeter with a bit of chocolate in the bowl!

Weiss

Hardcore.

Swampboy

Just beautiful.

I thought this was a competition thread.

What is the significance of the young Vicky hallmark during this era?

Jackthecat1

A beautiful bowl. Really a work of art.

asheland

Thanks for the compliments!

asheland

@Swampboy said:
Just beautiful.

I thought this was a competition thread.

What is the significance of the young Vicky hallmark during this era?

From 1784 to 1890, there was a tax on the silver by weight. When the items were sent to assay, the tax was collected and the head of the current monarch was stamped along side the other hallmarks. It's basically a receipt of the duty paid.

Some of you may notice this mark on the far right:

Is similar to the one counterstamped on the 8R coins. That's the duty mark (and other hallmarks) for London 1789.

asheland

Found a pic online:


Indeed it's the same mark (they had multiple sizes for different sized silver wares)

asheland

And yes, I want one of those 8 Reales coins!

Swampboy

Excellent!
Thanks @asheland

bigmarty58

Brightness on the Darkside

asheland

lordmarcovan

Here is a photo from our Darkside gathering in Ye Dead King Aethelred's library. Present were the usual suspects.

Michael S. ("Aethelred") - at left in photo, squinting at coin
Terry G. ("Asheland") - photographer and donor of Halloween cupcakes seen in foreground (they were good)
Greg C. ("savoyspecial")- was behind Terry, so he didn't make it into the photo
Rob S. ("lordmarcovan") - at right in photo, smiling slightly

I thought this was a good picture of Michael and I. One of the few recent photos of myself that I can look at without cringing.

It is a semi-candid shot, though it looks posed. Has a Norman Rockwell-esque quality, I'd say.

Note that Terry had immediately put his new silver bowl to good use, holding the Halloween cupcakes.

The album in front of Michael is his ancient coin collection. Open at his left is the aluminum box holding my "Eclectic Box of 20".

lordmarcovan

I should add that this bowl was a "time capsule" of sorts. Three years ago this week, when I was preparing for the England metal detecting trip in 2013, my sister had sent me a box with this bowl and a (gold?) ring inside, for me to sell, to help defray some of the costs of the trip. I had already sold some of my nicer coins, however, so the fundraising portion of the trip preparation was done, and by the time the box arrived, I had other concerns like packing and plane tickets and travel insurance and so on, so I left it unopened until I had time to deal with it.

I always intended to open the box sometime and check out the contents, but strangely, it sat underneath my bedside table for three years, unopened. I can't really say why. But remembering that Terry was into silver (as in Sterling, not just coins), I decided to bring the still-unopened box with me to this year's Darkside gathering in the Aethelred library.

I related the story of how Elizabeth had sent me the box, and that I had never opened it. Then I asked Terry if he wanted to see me open it. I had no idea what the bowl would look like. I expected something much smaller, like a sugar bowl.

So it was a fun sort of "time capsule" and "surprise package" all in one.

I still have the ring. Need to get a jeweler to check that out.

pmac

And I thought this thread was going to be about some sore of competition that Lord M puts together, sort like the "Superbowl" of coin collecting. I'm not disappointed though, just a little jealous of a group of like minded people can get together and share their shared interest. If there are any other codgers south of Boston, let's get together.

asheland

It was fun indeed and the bowl is a souvenir to remember this time!

Jinx86

Great piece! I enjoy having Silver items in the house. Most people wouldn't even think are silver, because who uses silver items any more? I just picked up a Tiffany bowl for my wife as a gift, celebrating 10 years of being together(our 1st date).

TwoKopeiki

@asheland said:
And yes, I want one of those 8 Reales coins!

You and me both!

Tibor

Looks like a good time. Very impressive library.

Swampboy

Great Post.

I enjoy my ancient coins in the manner of Ye Dead King although I have a smaller album; Harris with 6 slots per page.

LochNESS

@lordmarcovan Sir, you are one of the only souls I know who would receive such a box and save it unopened for three years to reveal at a private gathering of close friends. This is the type of tale one reads about in a great novel. I half expected you to continue on about elves or vikings.

I'm glad for the photo. Glad to see you both looking well and enjoying our great hobby, and also glad you are pleased with your image. You should be. We should all enjoy our bodies while we can, because someday we'll have to leave them behind.

It's wonderful to see folks enjoying numismatics the way it was meant to be enjoyed. With study and company. Conventions are great fun, and clubs can be a healthy place to socialize, but we too often forget these simple moments. I am often jealous of the brick and mortar shopkeepers who get to share such moments with their staff or coworkers on a regular basis. I have been collecting solo for many years. I used to share it with my dad - who is still with us - but he fell out of the hobby some time ago. And he was more of a currency fellow, and a litesider to boot. And I believe I am not the minority in this regard. So continue cherishing what you have together, as you clearly do! cheers

BS

That's pretty cool.

lordmarcovan

Thanks, Nessie. I particularly enjoyed your "Elves or Vikings" comment. Though I'd lean a bit more towards Vikings due to their nonfictional basis, there's nothing wrong with elves now and again. Aethelred gave me a copy of The Hobbit audiobook in a nicely packaged set of CDs, to give daughter Victoria, so Tolkien can entertain yet another generation (and not just via movies).

lordmarcovan

Far left of photo, left row of Michael's coin album, second from bottom: that might be the Nero DECVRSIO sestertius newp he'd just received that very day. He posted a thread about that recently. Great coin at a great price.

I believe the coin he's examining (note it's slabbed) is my Brocchus Roman Republican denarius.

Terry: since I've now badly hijacked your thread by discussing the non-silver-bowl elements of the photo, you can steer it back by posting another piece of Sterling with an interesting set of hallmarks, or just repost the "Nekkid Lady" Art Nouveau spoon again.

lordmarcovan

Oh- one more thing. I thought y'all might like this (or at least Terry, anyway).

This is Evelyn Elizabeth Robertson (nee Radeker, b. 1916- d. 1993), my maternal grandmother.

Here she is in her regalia as the 1938 Rhododendron Queen in Asheville, NC.

(Sorry, my antique iPhone is not as good for indoor picture-taking as yours is, Terry.)

She was "Betty" to her friends and "Mimi" to us grandchildren.

That photo was taken the year she married my grandfather.

It is from her estate that the silver bowl originally came.

It is through her that I am descended from the two Adams presidents and William Bradford, the Pilgrim governor (who made it onto a US commemorative coin in 1920). To further tantalize Terry, I should also add that unconfirmed family lore had it that she once owned a silver candlestick that had belonged to William Bradford, but I never saw it when her estate was divided up in 1993, so I don't know if it is mythical or real. (The story is plausible enough to me, considering her blueblood background.) Wouldn't THAT be a piece of silver to see and hold, eh?

I brought up the candlestick in 1993. I had thought it was a piece of Adams presidential silver. My mother or aunt scoffed and said no, it was Bradford silver, as if mere presidential artifacts would be something trivial. (Mayflower dames of a certain age take their heritage quite seriously.)

asheland

That's very interesting Rob! Thank you for posting that! It makes the silver bowl that much more interesting to me.
Thanks to everyone else who commented on this thread! It's a great hobby indeed and these meetings are what make the hobby so special.

lordmarcovan

Dangit - I was reminiscing over this thread and now I want one of those counterstamped 8R pieces!

asheland

carabonnair

@lordmarcovan said:
Dangit - I was reminiscing over this thread and now I want one of those counterstamped 8R pieces!

How 'bout counterfeit and counterstamped?

from eBay

lordmarcovan

@carabonnair said:

@lordmarcovan said:
Dangit - I was reminiscing over this thread and now I want one of those counterstamped 8R pieces!

How 'bout counterfeit and counterstamped?

from eBay

Wow, THAT'S a trip! Never seen one of those!