The Hallmarking Act of 1973 brought the remaining 4 British Assay Offices (London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh) into line with each other with the date letter now changing (from 1975) on 1 January each year. The hallmarking of British sterling silver is based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of origin and age of each piece.
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London Hallmarks 1 - Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks • • • London Date Letters & Maker's Marks - I • www . 925-1000 . com •• www . 925-1000 . com •• www . 925-1000 . com • Sterling, City of London, Year 1789, George III, Thomas Wallis London Date Letter Chart Silver Hallmarks In London The town mark for London is a Leopard's Head. If the Leopard's Head is surmounted with a crown it can be dated between 1478 - 1820, and without a crown dated between 1820 - present. The London assay office is the oldest hallmarking authority in England, and the Leopard's head is one of the oldest authentication marks. British sterling silver hallmarks help to identify the maker and year of manufacture of sterling silver items produced by Great Britain. Understanding and learning to recognize these marks can help you avoid costly mistakes in both the purchase and sale of antique English silver. London Date Letter Chart - Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Makers' Marks • 1696 - 1935 The shape of the shield cartouche around the City Mark and Standard Mark generally change to match the shield around the Date Letter Mark. • • London Import Marks on Foreign Made Silver • 1867 - Present
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The 925/1000 (sterling) silver fineness is certified in London and other British Assay Offices by the use of the "lion passant" mark. For a short period (1696-1720) the standard was elevated to 958.4/1000 and the "Britannia" mark replaced the "lion passant". London Silver Makers Hallmarks: A B S Adey B Savory A&CoLtd - Asprey & Co Limited AB - Alexander Barnet AB GB - Alice & George Burrows AB over GB - Alice and George Burrows ABS - A.B. Savory AC - Alexander Crichton AC - Augustine Courtauld AC over MC - The Alexander Manufacturing Company Limited AD - Alfred Dunhill AF Alexander Field The leopard's head marked by the London Assay Office on sterling silver remained crowned until 1821, after that it was uncrowned. The mark here is a leopard's head struck by the London Assay Office in 1970, and you can see that it looks more like a leopard than the earlier mark. As is often the case, this mark is "rubbed" from polishing. The mark for silver meeting the sterling standard of purity is the Lion Passant, but there have been other variations over the years, most notably the mark indicating Britannia purity. The Britannia standard was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720 to try to help prevent British sterling silver coins from being melted to make silver plate.
1892 silver hallmark London William Comyns and Sons
The images below show examples of what the 5 marks look like sequentially on a piece of flatware: From Left to Right (1927, Dublin, Brittania Standard Silver 95.8%, London) From Left to Right (London, Sheffield, 1942, England Sterling Silver) If you're considering buying silver made in the UK, you want to be sure you're getting the real deal. or via drop-down list: | Home |
The hallmarking of British silver is based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of the origin and the age of each piece. The marks are: Town mark, corresponding to the mark of the assay office that has verified the piece Lion passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased certifiying the silver's quality. A Standard mark The first step to identifying silver hallmarks is to look for the standard mark. There were five different marks used on British silver, and they're easy to recognize. They are the walking lion, the standing lion, the thistle, the crowned harp, and the symbol of Britannia.
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The hallmarks here comprises (L;R) the makers mark, the lion passant, the London town mark, the London 1935 date letter, and the Jubilee mark. The Jubilee mark was used during 1934 and 1935 to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of George V. It is not a standard mark, but rather narrow the dates quite significantly to 1934 or 1935. London Import Marks on Foreign Made Silver • 1867 - Present The "F" was used, 1867 - 1904, in conjunction with a full set of London marks. The second mark was used from 1906.
