Rare Southern coin silver ladle, possibly James Geddy Colonial Williamsburg, VA (wk 1751-80) simple design with handle tip engraved with block initials N/I*H; handle verso with quadruple maker's punch: JG. (Very good condition) L14 1/2", and 7.8oz *Note: This early American silver ladle bears four consecutive silversmiths' maker's marks: JG with a rectangle. Literature discusses three possible 18th century silversmiths whose marks are strictly similar; James Geddy (1731-1807), John Gibbs (1751-1797), and James Gough (1795-1874). Given the dates, style and biographical information, the most-likely maker of this ladle is Geddy. James Geddy (1731-1807) of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, son of James Geddy [Sr], gunsmith, whose house he occupied after his father died in 1743. The Geddy house is one of the 88 original excavated structures in Colonial Williamsburg, with over 19,000 fragments unearthed and catalogued. It is listed as "Geddy House and Foundry" at the corner of Palace Street on Duke Street [block 19, building 11]. Advertising as a goldsmith, silversmith and jeweler in the Virginia Gazette, James Geddy Jr. became Williamsburg's best-known colonial silversmith, and is acknowledged for making the nameplate for Governor Botetourt's coffin. Geddy later moved to Petersburg, VA in 1781, where he lived until his death in 1807.