Hello, I was given an item by a friend, he described it as a "19th Century Bronze Gaming Dice Cup".. about 1" in diameter, 1.5" high. It has two hallmarks on the bottom, both encompassed within an oval: the initials "IS" and a lion. He didn't have anything else to say about it, besides the fact that he picked it up in Europe and found it interesting.
If I were to guess, the "IS" would stand for International Sterling Co.. which would correspond with the lion which I take to mean its an item made up of sterling silver, however it doesn't appear to be so and even then I'm not sure why he would describe it as bronze.
Quite lost on the background of this item, can anyone offer some input? Cheers!
