Interesting piece of Americana found today!
So today a friend of mine invites me to ride along and go to some antique stores in the area. The ones closest to my house are kind of lame. They aren't terrible, but I didn't expect to really find anything of interest, I just rode along for something to do.
We go into the first stop, an antique mall, and I see this little spoon in the case. I immediately recognized it as American coin silver from the 1790's period! However, when I looked at the back, in addition to the VERY reasonable price, I see under the sticker a bird! It's a bird back spoon. Anyone who is familiar with American coin will likely know about these, but for those who don't, they made spoons and typically left the bottom of the bowl plain. Usually you'll see wheat, or a shell if anything but the birds are seldom seen.
The silversmith would have a spoon-bowl shaped die to form the bowl shape and the decoration would be carved into the die and struck, kinda like a coin. I date this piece between 1790-1810. Probably made in or around Philadelphia.
Anyway I thought you guys might appreciate seeing this. I'm happy to add this to my collection!
FWIW I would have paid $100 for an example like this in this great condition, but was very pleased to see this price tag:
Comments
A lot of things have been made from coin silver......this one is really cool! Thanks for posting.
bob
Nice find!!!!
eBay ID-bruceshort978
Successful BST:here and ATS, bumanchu, wdrob, hashtag, KeeNoooo, mikej61, Yonico, Meltdown, BAJJERFAN, Excaliber, lordmarcovan, cucamongacoin, robkool, bradyc, tonedcointrader, mumu, Windycity, astrotrain, tizofthe, overdate, rwyarmch, mkman123, Timbuk3,GBurger717, airplanenut, coinkid855 ,illini420, michaeldixon, Weiss, Morpheus, Deepcoin, Collectorcoins, AUandAG, D.Schwager.
I don't get it -- this spoon was made from an early US coin? What does the bird have to do with it?
.
Very nice!
Thanksgiving National Battlefield Coin Show is November 29-30, 2024 at the Eisenhower Allstar Sportsplex, Gettysburg, PA. Tables are available. WWW.AmericasCoinShows.com
I don't know anything about it but for $6 if you're happy with it (and you seem to have knowledge of these) you can hardly go wrong.
Way kewl!!!
Good eye and good hunting.
Interesting. I was at an antique mall a week ago and picked up a spoon. The one pictured sold for $430 and I paid $10. Propeller egg spoon pat 1909. (not my photo)
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
"Coin silver" in this context refers to the purity (.900 fine), versus Sterling (.925 fine), and others.
I don't collect silver except for COIN-coins, but for that price, I'd have STARTED a collection, bought that with an extreme quickness, and danced a happy jig, too!
Put in context, imagine trying to purchase that weight of early Federal US silver coins from the 1790s. How many do you think you would find for SIX BUCKS?
Hey, Terry- even though that's not an actual coin, I think it's safe to say "you suck" on this one.
PS- you need to show us the bird.
No, stop doing that with your middle finger.
I mean show the bird on the back of the spoon.
Interesting how the body of the bird resembles (somewhat) the bird's torso on a 1790's era dollar.
Neat item.
Thanks for the story
BHNC #203
Very interesting... I was not aware of these spoons... looks like another spin around the local antique shops is in order.... doubt I will find a bird spoon, but does not hurt to look. Cheers, RickO
The hallmark is listed as JOHN OWEN JR. PHil PA Circa1804 to 1840. In 1839 shown as J. Owen & Company
Cool find.
The bird looks to be a ...pheasant.Cool find.
Nice score on a great looking early period spoon.
Thanks for sharing it.
Donato
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
Coins were a primary source of silver for local silverware trade. Many advertised their use of coin silver as a way of attesting to the purity of their metal.
Are ya gonna dip it? Steel wool works good too.
"To Be Esteemed Be Useful" - 1792 Birch Cent --- "I personally think we developed language because of our deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
@Akbeez Likely they melted Spanish or English coins that would have been circulating at that time.
They pretty much melted coins or recycled other silverware to make new items.
Colonial Williamsburg made this video that shows the process well:
[img]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaqmzKFWDEI[/img]
My YouTube Channel
Thanks everybody for the comments.
My YouTube Channel
nice score
What was the purpose of the propeller spoon?
I did an I-net search and didn't find any information.
Never saw one before, @1Mike1 posted a photo and called it an egg spoon.
@Weiss should like this one.
My YouTube Channel
It's 11 inches long, looks heavy duty.
Exceptional find, anything from the 1700s now seems ancient.
It's very, very cool. That bird image is outstanding.
--Severian the Lame
The bird reminds me of the one on small eagle reverses of the era.
Sweet
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
I'd eat my cereal with this thing every morning while perusing the forums...
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
So, does the propeller spin as you swirl the spoon through liquid?
Yes the propeller does turn quite easily. As far as I can tell it was meant to be used to blend eggs such as we do when we make scrambled eggs. By the size of the spoon it looks like it would have had to been a deep batch of liquid for it to be practical. Its the first I've ever seen or heard of such a spoon.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
925-1000.com/americansilver_O2.html
sterlingflatwarefashions.com/Silversmiths/SSO2.html
So does this bring us closer to the actual date of this spoon? Is 1839 or 1840 the date?
It appears my second link above is more accurate. John Owen, working 1800-1840 is the range for this hallmark.
John Owen Jr. had a different hallmark and worked 1822-1828.
Actually this 1948 book narrows it to 1804-1831:
https://books.google.com/books?id=8nrTbSTv6SMC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=john+owen+silversmith&source=bl&ots=2bNcpU-hn-&sig=yq2BhtvF9Uljs4xbAWiaszKS7nk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbwOD6lqzXAhVLzmMKHTRLAmMQ6AEILDAB#v=onepage&q=john%20owen%20silversmith&f=false
Great spoon and great video @asheland
I will finish the video later but it is very informative, thanks
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Thanks everybody!
My YouTube Channel
The style of this spoon is textbook 1780's to 1790's so I am really unsure if that's the maker. It's slightly possible to be 1800-10, but I'm doubtful.
My YouTube Channel
If you compare the marks, you can see that they are different. I'm thinking my example is someone else.
My YouTube Channel
Maybe same person but punched at different time .Early than later?
Wild guess.
Nice find! Here on the west coast, I'm lucky to find anything pre WWI in the antique malls.
Here are some others to see different birds and styles, etc.
This dealer knows his stuff!
[cyberattic.com/stores/NorthHill/catalog/query.php?keywords=birdback&srch.x=0&srch.y=0&dealers=NorthHill&view=list&fromtrocadero=2](http://www.cyberattic.com/stores/NorthHill/catalog/query.php?keywords=birdback&srch.x=0&srch.y=0&
dealers=NorthHill&view=list&fromtrocadero=2 "cyberattic.com/stores/NorthHill/catalog/query.php?keywords=birdback&srch.x=0&srch.y=0&dealers=NorthHill&view=list&fromtrocadero=2")
(I do not know this dealer, just showing other examples)
My YouTube Channel
Looks like one heck-of-a deal!
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore...
I wonder whose mouth that's been in?
Then again, maybe I don't want to know.
I'm guessing George Washington stirred his tea with this very spoon.
My YouTube Channel
Was at dinner at an ANA in Pittsburgh with Dave Harper and Wendell Wolka and a few other people when Wendell told a story of visiting Eric P. Newman to research the Indiana banknotes in Eric's collection. When he arrived at Eric's house Eric invited him to tea on the verandah. They had tea and chatted, and as the butler was about to clear the tea service away Eric told Wendell to look at the back of the spoon he had been stirring his tea with. He turned it over and saw the maker's name: BRASHER!
@CaptHenway I have a spoon by William Hollingshead, he was one of the regulators alongside Brasher.
My YouTube Channel
Good thing you were bored that day!