An outstanding example of a William III/Queen Anne silver ‘dognose’ rattail serving spoon, fabulous gauge quality and condition, with a handsome contemporary crest and original silver-gilt bowl, struck with the beautiful Britannia Silver* standard mark for Benjamin Watts in use between 1699 and 1707. As fine an example as you could wish for and a terrific collector’s spoon.Condition: In fabulous antique condition with no damage or repair, and minimal wearMaker: Benjamin Watts London c 1700Dimensions: Length: 20cm. Weight: 72g* Britannia silver is an alloy of silver containing 11 ounces and 10 pennyweight silver in the pound troy, equivalent to 95.83% by weight silver, the balance being usually copper.This higher standard of silver content of 958 parts per thousand was introduced in England by Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace sterling silver (92.5% silver) as the obligatory standard for items of ''wrought plate''. The lion passant gardant hallmark denoting sterling was replaced with ''the figure of a woman commonly called Britannia'', and the leopard''s head mark of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths replaced with a ''lion''s head erased''.Britannia standard silver was introduced as part of the great recoinage scheme of William III from 1696, when attempts were made to limit the clipping and melting of sterling silver coinage. A higher standard for wrought plate meant that sterling silver coins could not easily be used as a source of raw material because additional fine silver, which was in short supply at the time, would have to be added to bring the purity of the alloy up to the higher standard.Britannia silver is considerably softer than sterling, and after complaints from the trade sterling silver was authorised again for use by silversmiths from 1 June 1720, and thereafter Britannia silver has remained an optional standard for hallmarking in the United Kingdom and Ireland.Please have a look at my other listings, I have many superb pieces of collector''s silver listed.BUY WITH COMPLETE CONFIDENCE. All my antiques are good collector''s pieces, ideal as special gifts, for investors or for resale by dealers. I offer generous discounts on multiple purchases. No quibble fourteen-day money back guarantee (purchaser pays return postage).Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information about this antique. Please quote the ''our reference'' number from the bottom of the listing.TO PAY BY CARD OR PAYPAL:• Email me for a postage quote.• Click on the ''PAY NOW'' button.• Put postage amount in the shipping box.• Click on the PAY button.To pay by Bank Transfer or cheque, please email me for details. I post within 48 hours of cleared payment (cheques take up to five working days). UK by next day Royal Mail Special Delivery, international by Royal Mail International tracked, tracking number advised.Please check the dimensions of the object carefully as apparent s...