Punch Ladle

In the early eighteenth century, fashionable people drank punch communally straight out of the bowl.  By mid-century this practice had begun to wane, and in genteel circles silver punch ladles were used to transfer punch from the bowl in to individual glasses.  Silver punch ladles were an expensive fashion statement.  Some ladles, like this one made in Charleston, South Carolina, made it clear exactly how expensive they were.  This ladle is made from an English Shilling and Crown.  The 1711 Shilling is set in to the ladle’s bowl.  The 1700 or 1713 crown has been hammered out, but the edge lettering of the coin is still partially visible.