German silver marks

[avomaa]

I have very nice tea pot and I have thought it is of cource silver. But now I m no more so sure. It is from German, Berlin and made by Humbert & son. S it was made after 1820. But there are no marks of silver content and that is why I am worried about. In the bottom of the pot there is zig-zag line drawn and one strange mark that I do not know. Any help??

[KevinFlynn]

The zig zag line is the place where silver has been taken to be checked for content (called a Tremulierstich - some silver has been taken from here). Here is a similar piece.

I believe to the left we have the bear, standing for Berlin. Wikipedia (did not check the english version) tells me that the city mark would guarantee a minimum fineness of 12 Lot (with 16 Lot being 1000 of 1000).

The city mark guarantees that silver content of 750. If the content would be higher, the piece would carry an additional stamp.

Not an expert, but that is what I make from it...

[avomaa]

Many thanks Kevin. This helped me a lot. There is L near the standing bear.

[Murph]

I think the L could be the date mark for around 1850 ish.