Engraving on Flatware

Following are photographs of the engravings on the backs of my spoons and forks (essentially a reprise of my first post with a few new additions).  Each of the engravings is unique, and has become an effective way to identify the utensil.  My husband's favorite spoon is the Owl Spoon.  I, of course, have several "favorites"...  Recently, I was excited to find a little teaspoon engraved "MK," M being the first letter of my name and K being that of my husband's.

Gary Bottomley of Antique Silver Spoons tells us that one set of initials, as on all of the flatware in the first photograph below, could indicate that the spoon was given as a birth, christening, or baptismal gift.  Or, the initials could be that of the adult owner, usually the man if he were married.  I assume a single set of initials could also be those of a single or widowed woman.

Whatever the type of engraving - initials, cypher, crest, coat of arms - it served to identify the owner of the piece.  In the most recent edition of The Finial, Robin Hunt sent in an ad from the March 7, 1694 edition of The London Chronicle, which offers a reward for information about a stolen silver spoon and fork identified as being engraved with a "Tygars Head."


What are your favorite engravings on your flatware? 

Initials:

 

Coat of Arms:

Cyphers:

Crests with Mottoes:

Crests - Mural Coronets:

Crests - Human Forms:

Crests - Animals:

Crests - Birds:

Sources:
 Bexfield, Daniel, ed. The Finial 25/01 (Sept/Oct 2014): 12. Print.