Coin Silver Spoon R. Humphreys Wilmington DE, Philadelphia, PA c. 1780 " Anna "

Description

This spoon weighs 1.85 troy oz, and is 8
¾”
long.
The "ANNA" engraving is no doubt later. While the spoon shows no tip wear, you can feel the tip is thinner than originally, and may be turned up a bit. The spoon has two very small cracks on either side of the handle roughly where the drop is on the back, each about 3 mm long and only barely visible in the bowl.
This is a rare American coin silver spoon by Richard Humphreys, This RH mark is rare and until now not published. However the attribution is very strong. You can read about his life in Catherine B. Hollan
’
s excellent
“
Philadelphia Silversmiths
”
, a briefer version of his career is also available on Wm Erik. Voss
’
s excellent site which can be found by Googling American Silversmiths and Related Craftsmen. In Hollan
’
s book she treats at length bird back spoons, and the different versions. In Winterthur
’
s collection there is a spoon with the same mark and a bird-back stamp that was used by Humphrey
’
s the dove in profile of page 269 of Hollan
’
s book. . Of course the maker
’
s mark is also very similar to an RH mark published and also shown on Voss
’
s site. So I think it is obvious that the mark is that of Humphreys. Please contact us if you have any doubts.
Humphreys also worked in WilmIngton, Delaware at the beginning of his career, although we think this is from his Phila. period.
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