A buddy in Australia picked up this silver banded GBD but is having difficulty understanding the hallmark. I've never seen a GBD silver band like this one, so I was of no help. I can't recall ever having seen a GBD silver band with French hallmarks.
He wrote me:
Photos of the French GBD stamped GBD in oval and letters M, R, C, Ld in squares as in the Pipedia articles on Marechal Ruchon & Cie and GBD. Below the letters are a small diamond and a minuscule (inverted) boar head which are hallmarks for French silver. Sorry about the poor photo quality.
On the shank is GBD in oval on one side, and NICHOLAS and LYON (underneath) on the other side.
It does look like the stamps indicate that this pipe was made sometime AFTER Marechal Ruchon et Cie became Marechal Ruchon & Co Ltd There are numerous photos of similar stamps in the Pipedia GBD article, but unfortunately no Help in dating.
Pictures below.
He wrote me:
Photos of the French GBD stamped GBD in oval and letters M, R, C, Ld in squares as in the Pipedia articles on Marechal Ruchon & Cie and GBD. Below the letters are a small diamond and a minuscule (inverted) boar head which are hallmarks for French silver. Sorry about the poor photo quality.
On the shank is GBD in oval on one side, and NICHOLAS and LYON (underneath) on the other side.
It does look like the stamps indicate that this pipe was made sometime AFTER Marechal Ruchon et Cie became Marechal Ruchon & Co Ltd There are numerous photos of similar stamps in the Pipedia GBD article, but unfortunately no Help in dating.
Pictures below.