QuestionMy grandma gave me her aunts wedding band. On the inside there are several "stamps".ACC9, a crown, 22, a sideways anchor and finally an F.. I suppose I am most curious about the anchor. If you could help me with any of the above that would be great. Thank you
AnswerHello Sarah,
I can help but I will need a day or so to look up the marks- what you have that I am certain of is that the anchor represents Birmingham England, the "F" is a mark that usually indicates its foreign manufacture and import to Birmingham, the .ACC9", is the makers model number of your piece or it was perhaps original to a student of the Chesterfield College of Arts usually expressed as written as ACC and the 9 is for - that 's what I have to research!. the 22 means the it is 22 kt., or 22 karat gold- that narrows down the value to higher end makers as opposed to really mass produced 9 kt. or 14 karat products.One would find higher end jewelers in a College and the CCA in Sheffield would be referenced by the crown..meaning Sheffield was the manufacture place and it was "imported to Birmingham for sale then the F is a date letter that indicates that latter quarter of the 19th century in 1898, or if the crown is directly next to the letter it would indicate 1829 much earlier than the College at Sheffield and then back to the Birmingham and Foreign manufacture and the other variables like the model number - which however were not very much used in the early 19th century, so it is all a mystery without seeing it firsthand!
The crown is indicating it was sold in Sheffield . Some times if letters are in an oval cartouche it would indicate a date , as an F in an oval would mean a date not an import place..so i am leaning towards a date, and leaning towards brought to Sheffield and bought from a sales concern in Birmingham..but the entire thing does require some research as its marks can also show the ".ACC9" is what I believe to be the mark of Albert Cohen Company, of Birmingham..their mark would look like it has a nine on the end, when in fact it is not, but a stylized makers mark- if that is the case you have a piece of Birmingham origin made by Albert Cohen Company, that dates to perhaps 1898-1900 as the "F" alone would indicate 1898 though the Albert Cohen Company registered in Birmingham in 1900 or the "F" could indicate that the piece that was of foreign manufacture ( the "F") imported to Birmingham and sold there, though made in Sheffield as the crown indicates Sheffield, and the anchor Birmingham..so its a bit of a mystery unless it was Irish in which case the letters and symbols would be lengthwise on the band and not straight on as you view them..
It's even more of a puzzle as the Chesterfield College of the Arts is sometimes expressed ACC instead of CCA but is most definitely located in Sheffield and as indicated by the crown and then the fact that it is 22 karat reinforces that it is more likely a handmade piece as you would find in an Arts college.
I in fact am puzzled.As always without a way to view the markings it is that much more speculative, but It is of high value in that it is 22 karat gold and probably hand fabricated , and native to England as opposed to Ireland ( the long shot is Ireland as the crown can also represent Ireland if on its side in the band!Not being able to see the mark , has me wondering which crown you are looking at -Irish or British.
Nonetheless, If you can photograph the marks with a webcam or digital camera of any sort please send that to me give me a few days to do so and I'll try and narrow it down some more.
I would though in my best guess say it is an Albert and Cohen Company Piece, of 22karat gold, made in Birmingham in about 1898-1900, and perhaps sold in Sheffield at an alternate location ( though I can't find a record of that). If I could see it I could tell you definitely.If it is more clearly to your eyes an ".ACC9" then back to the Chesterfield College of Arts and Sheffield, and imported to Birmingham, yet still 22karat gold and British through and through.
I hope that with this information, your looking at your ring in person will help you solve it on your own. Remember the Birmingham mark is the anchor, and the Sheffield mark the crown but if the crown is directly next to the "f" or in the same background oval or circle you can attach that to the date, which makes it a much earlier piece indicating 1829..but less likely. The .ACC9 is probably the Albert Cohen & Company hallmark which would make it a later piece dating to around the turn of the 20th century or 4th quarter of the 19th cent.(1898 to be exact as that's what the F alone represents in date stampings),The Chesterfield College is in Sheffield England, and dates to around the 4th quarter of the 19th century which coincides with the date letters of the "f" and does rule out the foreign manufacture expressed as an "F".. so armed with that knowledge make your most educated guess unless you care to take a photo and send it on..Good luck in sleuthing it on your own!
Best Regards,Ari
