Sorry its not a coin but I thought you guys might help... I am trying to figure out the origins of this cup. Does anyone recognize the Coat of arms on this? This tests as silver. 93 grams. Its the shape of a wine tasting cup but from the looks of it, it could of been created out something larger.
Box lot at an auction. Probably been used as an ashtray for the last few hundred years from the looks of it. I cleaned it with a polishing cloth. Hopefully that was not a no no.. but well silverware has always been safe to clean.
Ah gotchya! Have you authenticated that it is indeed silver and not just a plated replica? I’ve seen stores sell silver plated stuff like that because it looks pretty cool but if it’s the real deal and hundreds of years old it could be worth a lot.
The thing I am running into in my research is everything spanish seems to have Lions and Castles. Not Eagles and Castles on the crest.
Depending on the age and origin of the cup or saucer, there should be hallmarks on the bottom that indicate the purity and the maker. The engraving looks quite crude, so I doubt that a silversmith created this object.
There are no hallmarks. It is crude in a way but also its got nice details in a way.. Textured background in the images.. one tower has two openings on top. The other just one. Its not fine silversmith work for sure. But I feel like whomever did it wanted to represent there lord or family crest correctly. The handle seems added as an afterthought. It shows hammer marks on the side It makes me think it was a larger item that was cut down and hammered to a cup.
Interesting object. The coat of arms made me think of those of Kampen and Deventer in the Netherlands. Kampen has the castles and Deventer the eagles, but unfortunately the two are not together (both not my coins)...
Interesting piece. These sorts of things are hard to evaluate as there's no "official" template to determine authenticity, as with coins. Hallmarks can be a useful clue to figuring this stuff out, but a lot of old silver lacks such marks. It reminds of a rather spectacular deal on eBay from a few years ago, a Scottish Sterling Silver Quaich made by Wilson & Sharp, Edinburgh in 1900, mounted with a 1668 English silver sixpence of Charles II. Here's how I wrote it up for my records, since the seller's description was a bit bungled: eBay Title: 1668 French Coin - Carolus II Serves As Bottom Of A Cup Date Auction Ended: May 08, 2016 , 9:20PM Closing Price: $ 10.51 eBay Description: "Please look carefully at this item as I am not quite sure how to describe it. There is a well worn French coin acting as the bottom this cup that has some touchmarks but none that I am aware of, ie. I do not believe that the cup is sterling but it is likely that the coin is real. The touchmark for the maker is "W & L". My Description: This is a Scottish quaich, a drinking vessel, made by Wilson & Sharp in Edinburgh in 1900. It is sterling silver. The coin is an English sixpence of King Charles II dated 1668. The maker mark is a "W & S." The hallmarks are as follows: thistle silver standard mark (indicates .925 sterling silver); castle (indicates Edinburgh manufacture) and a Gothic "t" (indicates 1900 manufacture date). As I know nothing about Scottish drinking vessels, silver doo-dads, hallmarks, etc., so it took some digging to figure this out. There's a lot of information on the Internet about such things, but it took some digging. I am ashamed to admit I have yet to drink a wee dram from the thing yet. According to my latest DNA results, I'm 32% Scottish (and 34% Irish, so drinking comes naturally to me). Someday, someday...
