Double-duty Caddy Spoon, 1797

This is a great example of a late 18th century Sheffield made silver caddy spoon. It has a deep pear-shaped bowl with flat engraved handle. The cartouche has been engraved with script initials that didn't quite fit! The spoon is in excellent condition with the hallmarks spread either side of the bowl.

An interesting feature of this caddy spoon is the twice struck duty mark. In 1797, the duty on silver was doubled to help pay for the Napoleonic Wars. Assay offices had different methods of showing when this had been paid whilst the current year letter was being used. Sheffield chose to strike the duty mark twice for the few weeks from 15th July until the end of August 1797. This silver caddy spoon is a great example of an item that bears the so called double duty mark.