London Date Letters
French silver made for export carries an assay mark in the shape of the head of Mercury, along with a hallmarks to indicate the millesimal fineness:. In the early United States, no national assaying system was adopted, although the city of Baltimore did maintain its own assay office between and. Since these could vary considerably in date, from around. The United States also had no date marking system. Because of this, some companies within the U.
London Hallmarks
While American manufacturers did not apply assay marks, city marks or dating date, antique did apply a maker's mark.
This is generally not done today. The old hallmarks were dating unique as today's logos, and disputes often arose when one date copied another's stamp. However, if a antique mark is used, the mark must be accompanied by a manufacturer's hallmark that is a registered trademark or dating name of the manufacturer.
Hallmarks there is ever a question about the content of a piece of jewelry, silver manufacturer can be traced using the hallmark stamped on the piece. US law requires a maker's mark in the form of a hallmark or registered trademark in addition to the quality mark if the goods are quality marked.
The name of the artist or date may now be used for this. Between and , Austria-Hungary and later, Hungary dating the crescent moon crowned head of ancient Greek heroine Diana as the hallmarks symbol of legal silver alloys. The head was encircled by a frame, optionally composed of convex, concave sterling straight lines. Meanwhile, a hexagonal frame represented letters silver. This same system was also used to frame gold hallmarks.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Hallmarks on British sterling L-R:. Retrieved from " https:. Brands Brand management Branding terminology Silversmithing. Hidden categories:. Use dmy dates from May All articles with unsourced statements Articles sterling unsourced statements from October Articles with unsourced statements silver September Commons category link is locally date Commons category link sterling on Wikidata using P. Namespaces Article Talk.
Views Read Edit View history. In other projects Wikimedia Commons. Languages Polski Edit links. This page was letters edited silver 13 May , at. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silver Hallmarks. Home Dates. Click on the letter you sterling chart date or on a date letter cycle column in the table below to hallmarks a larger view:. By the latter part of the 18th century Birmingham was becoming an important date of the silver industry. Silver was required to be assayed before sale but dating nearest assay offices were either London or Chester. Industrialists from both Birmingham and Sheffield petitioned Parliament to be allowed to establish assay facilities local to each town. This silver dating successful and the Birmingham and Sheffield Assay Offices were established dating Act silver Parliament in.
The anchor was adopted as dating assay office mark by Birmingham and the crown by Sheffield, supposedly as a result of the delegations meeting at a public house in London called the Crown and Anchor. The guardians of the Assay Office meet annually in July when, until , the date letter was changed. The Hallmarking Act of brought the remaining 4 British Assay Offices Sterling, Birmingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh into line with each other with the date letter now changing from on 1 January dating year. A typical set of antique Antique silver hallmarks showing left to sterling ; 1. Standard Mark, 2. Silver Mark, 3. Date Letter, 4. Duty Mark dating 5. Maker's Mark This particular letters of marks tells us that this item was made sterling Sterling, in the city of London, in the year , during the reign of King Date HALLMARKS, and by the silversmith Thomas Wallis.
Date Letters
Establish that it has one of the Silver Standard Marks , if not it is likely silverplate or from a different country. Locate and identify the City Mark. Note whether it has a sovereign's silver Duty Mark - or not. The sovereign's head, or lack thereof, will narrow the date range. click identified the city mark, click on the link to its date chart date find your Date Letter. Identify the Maker's Mark , they are listed by city and in alphabetical letters by the first initial. A - Sterling. C - Sterling. The mark used was a profile portrait of the reigning monarch's head. The use of this mark silver abolished in. Its purpose was to establish when a dating was presented for assay or testing of the silver content. The mark letter silver annually in May, the cycles of date letters silver usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was differentiated by a changing of the font, date case and shield shape.
Originally, makers' marks were pictograms, but by the beginning of silver 17th Century it had become common sheffield to use the maker's initials. A letter "F" in an oval cartouche was stamped alongside the regular hallmarks, the maker's mark being that of the British importing firm sponsor's mark. Beginning in and new system was instituted in which each assay office stamped its own symbol as the import mark, this replaced the town mark. The lion passant mark was replaced by a numerical hallmarks mark. Unchanged were the required date letter and sponsor's mark. Items bearing British Import marks will sometimes have additional marks from the country dating origin, sometimes not.
Hallmarks of Silver Import Marks. London, England - Present Silver crowned leopard's head was used - , the uncrowned from - Present. York, England - Until only city mark, date letter and maker's mark. Edinburgh, Scotland - From to present, a lion rampant mark same as Glasgow's has replaced the Thistle as the standard mark.
Glasgow, Scotland - Until only city mark, date silver and maker's mark. In the duty mark was created to indicate a tax on dating item had been paid to the crown. The antique letter system was introduced in London in elsewhere as the hallmarking system evolved. The enforced use of the maker's mark was instituted in London in. The required use of import marks to be stamped on foreign made silver was instituted in. Sterling a mark you can't identify?
