Expert: Martin G Roberts - 4/6/2005

Question
Martin I have a pewter tankard marked on the outside with the name james yates. it has the ER MARK WITH THE CROWN BETWEEN E AND R. under that it has the#387and under that is what i think is syc7. IT ALSO HAS THE WORD QUART. on the inside it has an roman numeral xABOVE A TRIANGLE WITH A Y IN THE CENTER AND UNDER THAT IT HAS * IT APPEARS THAT THE HANDLE IS HANDMADE AND SOLDERED ON. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THAT THIS IS REAL. IS IT POSSIBLE THAT IT IS WORTH MORE THAN THE $20.00 I PAID FOR IT? ANY HELP THAT YOU CAN GIVE ME WILL BE APPREACIATED. SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING.

Answer
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Thanks for your enquiry. It is certainly authentic, and probably worth more than $20. ER = Edward Rex, i.e. King Edward VII (1901-1910). The stamp with ER is a uniform verification stamp - see www.antique-metalware.co.uk and follow links for more info on verifications, which were stamped by weights and measures inspectors to confirm the measure was of legal capacity (in this case, an Imperial quart). 387 is the number for the County of Surrey just south of London. SYC7 may be a district mark for a sub-division of Surrey. The marks inside the base are those of Gaskell & Chambers of Birmingham and London, pewterers and barfitters. They took over the James Yates business around 1900, a business which had begun making pewter when James' father John Yates working in Birmingham (central England) in the 1820s. So the dates fit, and suggest this piece is circa 1905. The handle should not appear to have crude soldering - the pewterers would not have allowed scruffy work - so it may well be re-attached with a crude repair. One of the advantages of pewter was the ease of amateur repair, and such repairs are common, but detract significantly from value. Perhaps worth around $40-60.

Hope this helps.

Martin
www.antique-metalware.co.uk