Hi Gary, great vid. I absolutely love these old spoons (I have 3 myself, an Apostle and 2 Seal Tops) but for your information the 'Puritan' spoon on the right (with the squarer stem) is actually a Slip Top spoon. One of the hallmarks on the back (usually the date letter) should be up at the top end of the stem, it was placed there to ensure the spoon can't be converted to a more valuable Apostle spoon by a forger. The word 'Slip' comes from an old English word for 'slope', and if you have a close look at your spoon, you can see the top of the stem has been cut off at an angle.
Hi Greg, Thanks for your response. You are correct, that is indeed a slip top spoon. In our haste to produce the video, we made a mistake in not specifying that bit of terminology. The Puritan spoons are more square ended and the slip tops do have that slope. They are part of the same cultural trend towards simplicity and of similar cultural function as the “Puritan” spoons, part of the trend away from ornamentation as seen in the apostle spoons and seal top spoons. Thanks again for commenting and we'll note the difference should the opportunity arise again.
Actually, the time period for slip top spoons runs nearly parallel to seal tops and apostles. The oldest known slip top spoon is from 1462. The puritan spoon didn't appear until nearly 200 years later in the 1640's due to, as you say, cultural (i.e. religious) changes. All the 'early English spoons' (apostles, seal tops, Lion sejants, slip tops, etc.) and puritan spoons had ceased to be produced by around 1670, to make way for the new French style Trefid spoons. The best indicator of the change in trend is the shape of the bowl. The puritan spoon will have a more oval shaped bowl and all the early English spoons have a fig shaped bowl.
Sterling silver means is real silver? Cause I bought a soup server antique and it has a lion a lady walking next, a UFO head face or diamond shaped I'm not sure what it means, please reply.
Hi Dale. You are describing a British hallmark. The walking lion or lion passant indicates it is sterling silver. The lion head means it was made in London. The ufo is probably a head, which is a silhouette of the reigning monarch there should also be a single letter, which is the date mark. Please look at www.925-1000.com it has a clear explanation of all British silver marks and you can find exactly what year your piece was made. Otherwise, if you can send a clear picture to: info@GaryGermer.com, I will look it up for you! Cheers!
This was very informative! Keep these videos coming!
Thank you Ryan! We're glad you liked it and we love what we're doing. We are planning to post at least several videos a week so check back often.
Thanks, we are rebooting and have a series in process
Hi Gary, great vid.
I absolutely love these old spoons (I have 3 myself, an Apostle and 2 Seal Tops) but for your information the 'Puritan' spoon on the right (with the squarer stem) is actually a Slip Top spoon. One of the hallmarks on the back (usually the date letter) should be up at the top end of the stem, it was placed there to ensure the spoon can't be converted to a more valuable Apostle spoon by a forger.
The word 'Slip' comes from an old English word for 'slope', and if you have a close look at your spoon, you can see the top of the stem has been cut off at an angle.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your response. You are correct, that is indeed a slip top spoon. In our haste to produce the video, we made a mistake in not specifying that bit of terminology. The Puritan spoons are more square ended and the slip tops do have that slope.
They are part of the same cultural trend towards simplicity and of similar cultural function as the “Puritan” spoons, part of the trend away from ornamentation as seen in the apostle spoons and seal top spoons.
Thanks again for commenting and we'll note the difference should the opportunity arise again.
Actually, the time period for slip top spoons runs nearly parallel to seal tops and apostles. The oldest known
slip top spoon is from 1462. The puritan spoon didn't appear until nearly 200 years later in the 1640's due to, as you say, cultural (i.e. religious) changes.
All the 'early English spoons' (apostles, seal tops, Lion sejants, slip tops, etc.) and puritan spoons had ceased to be produced by around 1670, to make way for the new French style Trefid spoons.
The best indicator of the change in trend is the shape of the bowl. The puritan spoon will have a more oval
shaped bowl and all the early English spoons have a fig shaped bowl.
Thank so much for your information. I appreciate it. We will update as soon as we can ! Thanks again. Gary
Sterling silver means is real silver? Cause I bought a soup server antique and it has a lion a lady walking next, a UFO head face or diamond shaped I'm not sure what it means, please reply.
Hi Dale. You are describing a British hallmark. The walking lion or lion passant indicates it is sterling silver. The lion head means it was made in London. The ufo is probably a head, which is a silhouette of the reigning monarch there should also be a single letter, which is the date mark. Please look at www.925-1000.com it has a clear explanation of all British silver marks and you can find exactly what year your piece was made. Otherwise, if you can send a clear picture to: info@GaryGermer.com, I will look it up for you! Cheers!