M1874 Mess Spoons

[Rifleman]

Are these as rare as I've been told.Saw a gentleman at a militaria show who wanted $140 a piece for his.My cousin gave me these two a while back.I've read several accounts of these on the internet.M1874 isn't correct?Ive heard some are US marked and some are not.What's the correct info on these?

 

Thanks

[New Romantic]

The 1874 mess spoons are a tough find, and they are not cheap on the market. US marked spoons were govt issue whereas the unmarked spoons were for the civilian market, but as battlefield finds have shown the Army also acquired unmarked utensils.

 

Check out this topic-

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...mp;#entry357642

[Kration]

The actual textbook issue M1874 U.S. marked spoons are 6 1/2-7" long...They are the same length as the three prong fork. There are smaller non U.S. marked spoons that are identical in stamped construction but shorter.. about 5 1/2 long. These shorter spoons do turn up on some dealer sites described as M1874 spoons. I tend to think collectors usually prefer U.S. marked examples but they are very tough to find.

kration

[Rifleman]

Thanks for the replies.The ones I have seem to be a slightly different pattern than the ones shown in the link provided.Also mine measure 6 7/8" long.I'm posting a picture from the link for comparison.Maybe mine are something totally different?

[New Romantic]

Thanks for the replies.The ones I have seem to be a slightly different pattern than the ones shown in the link provided.Also mine measure 6 7/8" long.I'm posting a picture from the link for comparison.Maybe mine are something totally different?

 

According to Douglas McChristian's US Army in the West, 1880-1891 there were several contractors that made the utensils and slight variations can be found among the patterns. Nothing drastic, just a bit of a difference in tooling.