Imperial silver Wisconsin spoon

[tazmainiendigger]

Hi Folks I just got back from digging around a couple old cellar holes here in Maine.... I found this spoon and put it in my pocket and didn't think a whole lot about it... You know how you always find that old silverware.... Well when I got home and cleaned this one up I think it might be a good one! It says Wisconsin on it, and has a eagle with 13 stars... the back says solid imperial silver, the specimen is quite choice.... anyone have any input on this item??? Happy digg'n. Taz

 

[tazmainiendigger]

overall spoon

 

[tazmainiendigger]

name on spoon...

 

[tazmainiendigger]

back of spoon...

 

[tazmainiendigger]

back engraving...

 

[Bluebelle]

Very nice find! I was waiting to say anything about it in case somebody really knowledgeable turned up, but you have a State souvenir spoon, design suggests early 1900's, maybe up to 1910 or 1915. First patented US souvenir spoon was from Niagara Falls, late 1880's. Very popular, relatively inexpensive collectible, especially with the ladies, something relatively inexpensive to pick up on trips or bring back as a gift. People might either specialize in places, events, parks, states, or just get what they like. "Solid Imperial Silver" suggests that it is made of an alloy of some type, may or may not have any actual silver in it. What color was it after the ground dirt was washed off? Did you use silver polish or anything like that on it? If it had any silver in it or was plated, some tarnish or oxidation would remain around the fine details unless you scrubbed the daylights out of it. The uniformly white color again suggests alloy. The most valuable ones are sterling or certain rare silver plated ones; some even have elaborate enameled bowls. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tazmainiendigger]

Thanks Bluebelle you sound quite knowledgeable! [] The spoon was quite dark brownish-black when first recovered, I then put it in sudsy ammonia which removed quite a bit of grundge instantly... after that it had a burnt blue look, so I got out the SOS pads and some elbow grease the silver sheen came out then... The spoon does ring when you drop it on the table. I know what you mean about alloys, like a german nickle-silver... I am not sure what year it was when silver had to be marked "sterling" or ".925" do you? Thanks for your info on the souviener spoons I appreciate it! Taz

 

[Bluebelle]

A bit of web browsing suggests that the sterling designation/marking came in in with the US Stamping Act of 1906--
The burnt blue color suggests maybe there was some plating on it... I've had some plated pieces that got that type of color back when I lived in Pittsburgh before the mills closed - sulphur does it to them. Very hard to remove with "ordinary" silver polishing techniques. Could I suggest an alternative approach to cleaning any finds that might be silver or pewter - start with ordinary dish detergent (not dishwasher soap) and a soft brush. Next step, try a damp cloth with a paste of baking soda. Another approach is using ordinary toothpaste and soft brush - I use that on silver jewelry a lot, and its always around the house. Then, any grocery-store silver polish. While our bottles can take a lot of chemicals and abrasives, a lot of the soft metal items chemically react and scratch easily. Good luck on some more good finds!