Spoons make a great collectible item. Although they come in a variety of sizes, most spoons are not too big. From the 16th century to today, you can find spoons. Some are very expensive, while others can be quite affordable. You should be especially careful about older, rarer items TinySpoon.
These spoons are called Apostle spoons. The ends of the stem depict 12 apostles. A complete set will include the Master spoon, making it 13 total. The Master spoon is bigger and depicts Jesus. It is unlikely that you will find a set, but it is possible to find an individual spoon. This is not uncommon but worthwhile. These spoons were made in the 15th century and stopped being made around 1660-70. These spoons were popular in 16th-century England as baptismal gifts.
This spoon, the Maidenhead and Lion Sejant, is also from this period. It has the figure and shape of a female or a Lion instead of an apostle.
Early spoons had hexagonal handles and a finial. Slip head spoons are another early spoon with no finial. The handle is removed at an angle and has no handle.
The seal top, which is also known as the seal top spoon, is the most popular cast terminal/finial. The seal top spoon has a circular disc at its top. It often bears the initials of the owner. The seal on earlier spoons was smaller and tended to become larger with each subsequent production.
The spoon stem changed from being narrow to a wider Puritan handle in the 18th century. It now looks like the handle we have today. These changes took place slowly and the bowl became deeper and more useful.
Rat-Tail spoon. This refers to how the handle was attached at the bowl. It describes a long narrowing joint from the handle to the back of bowl. The Trefid, which was used to describe a handle with three lobes became more popular as the stem grew in width. The date letter was high on the handle in early examples. The rat-tail vanished around 1725, but later examples were made.
Early spoons that have die-struck motifs are also more likely to be spoons. The handle type is a better indicator of the time period, with narrow hexagonal stems being older than puritan stems.
Teaspoons were first produced around 1670. Early teaspoons are rarely fully marked. They only have the maker’s mark and the lion passant. Rarely will you find a teaspoon with a twisty handle, but this is possible if you are very lucky. The 18th century saw the popularity of picture back teaspoons, with the image being stamped on the outside of the bowl.
The Mote-spoon is also known as the olive-spoon or stirrer-spoon. The bowl is often attached to it with a rat tail attachment. It has a tapering stem that ends in a barbed spike. The spoon is likely to not be marked fully as the bowl is often pierced. The spoon should have a maker’s mark, the lions head and the lion passant. This spoon is thought to be the forerunner of the tea strainer. The tea strainer was introduced in 1790.
Sackett-spoon, first appeared in 1660’s. It has the rattail to bowl attachment as well as a fork at the opposite end. They can be as small as 5 to 5.5 inches in size and are made of very thin gauge sterling. These basting-spoons date back to the 1670’s and often had long trefid handles with deep pierced bows that eventually gave way to an unpierced one.
Marrow-spoon. This spoon is an adaptation of a trefid/rat-tail spoon, with a hollowed stem. This spoon was used to extract bone marrow from the cooked bones. It is considered a delicacy.
Medicine spoons date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Double ended medicine spoons often have a different dose measurement on each end. The caster-oil spoon was also a closed, hollow-handled spoon. This allowed the dispenser to control the flow of castor oil until the recipient had the bowl in their mouth.Spoons have been developed up to today and are available in many shapes and sizes.