Q: I have a teaspoon with the name T. Barnard and an anchor, a profile of what looks like Ben Franklin and a star marked on the back. There is also the name "Franklin" in script written above the marks. Can you give me any information about this?A: American silver is usually marked only with the maker's mark, but English silver is marked with a series of hallmarks including the quality mark, town mark, maker's mark and sovereign's head. On English silver, the anchor mark is the town mark for Birmingham. Some American makers used a series of "pseudo hallmarks," imitating the way English silver was marked. The anchor, star and head in profile marks were used by several American companies that made coin silver c.1825-1835.
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