1680s Austrian Coin Decorated Antique Silver Tea Strainer
Description: A beautiful and unusual antique silver tea strainer. The strainer which has a central hemispherical silver strainer surrounded with Austrian silver coins. There is nine 3 Kruzers from the State of Salzburg dated 1680, 1681, and 1682. These are KM#228, which were struck during the rule of Maximilian Gandolph who is on the obverse, while the reverse has two shields of arms with the date above them and the value below in a circle. There is a larger coin on top of the handle. The coin is dated 1773 and has a denomination of 5, however, we were unable to properly attribute it. The coins are held together with decorative silver wire with small flower. The coin are soldered to the wire and to the strainer. The handle is made of a twisted thicker wire with a square on top where the 5 piece is soldered. There is a loop on top to hang from. The entire piece weighs 41.1 grams or a bit over 1.32 troy ounces of silver. The entire piece appears to be original and was put together after 1773. Please view photos as they are part and parcel of our description.
Date: Uncertain but most likely late 1700's or early 1800's.
Origin: Uncertain, but most likely Austria.
Size: The piece measures ~3 3/4" in diameter at the base and 5 3/8" long. The strainer itself measures 2 1/2" in diameter and is about 3/4" deep. It weighs 41.1 grams.
Maker: Unknown.
Marks: Unmarked as to the maker.
Distinguishing Characteristics - Most Interesting About The Piece: This is a nice and unusual silver antique piece which you very seldom see.
Condition: The strainer is in generally good condition. It has quite a few dings to the silver strainer, some of the coins are a bit bent, the decorative wiring holding the coins together are a bit distorted, bent and have lost one or two of the decorative florets. I would grade most of the coins from fine to very fine with a couple being very good. Other than that the piece is in good shape given that it is over 200 years old and served a utilitarian function. It could probably use a good cleaning and remove residue of cleaning agent which is all over it, but we will leave this to the next owner. Just a great antique. Please see photos to appreciate the beauty and condition of this great piece.
