18th c. American Coin Silver Tongs WW Wm. Waite ? RI ? CT ? NY ?

Description

This is one of the nicest pairs of tongs I have had in 40 years. Unfortunately I really don’t know who made them. They are very unusual. The arms are cast and soldered on, but unlike most of this type they are not pierced. These also have fantastic engraving. I have seen only one other pair like these, I believe they were made a few years later than the pierced type, perhaps 1780-90. The shell ends makes one think of Rhode Island, although I have found them in Philadelphia, NH etc Silver by Wm Waite is very rare, so I could find none that would allow the comparison of engraving, etc. A pierced arm pair by John Waite with a similar, although different, Shell bowl can be found by Googling American Silversmiths, click on the first result
6” long, 2 ¼” wide, and the bend is 1 5/16” wide.
44 grams or 1.41 troy ounces.
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