Superb Set 6 c1727 English Queen Anne Rattail 8" Soup Spoons w Greyhound Crest

Presented is a wonderful set of 6 antique English sterling silver large size oval soup spoons, dating to circa 1727. The spoons are made in a classic Queen Anne style, with rounded, turned up tips to the terminals, a pip and central ridge on the handles, and a prominent rattail to the backs of the bowls. The reverse of the terminal of the handle on all six spoons has a finely engraved crest of a demi greyhound holding a spearpoint or arrowhead. These spoons all have English hallmarks, but the marks vary somewhat. Four of the spoons have a visible M date letter for 1727, the lion passant for sterling silver, the leopard's head crowned, and a maker's mark, the clearest example of which looks like the second letter is “C.” The remaining two spoons have marks that are more rubbed, but the maker's mark for Samuel Hitchcock is visible, and the traces of the lion's head erased, which would indicate Britannia standard silver (958, higher than the 925 standard of sterling silver). These two spo