Hallmarked Silver

The picture alongside shows a typical hallmark on the reverse of the handle of a tea caddy spoon. At the top of the picture is the initials of the maker, which in this case is W.B. & S.

The second row on the left is the depiction of an anchor which signifies that this item was assayed at the Birmingham assay office.

Bottom centre is a lion passant (walking from right to left. This confirms that the item is sterling silver which means that the content must be 92.5% silver. Other metals are added to give the item strength and rigidity. 100% silver content would make the piece too maleable.

At the right hand side is a letter contained within a shield. It is this indicator which actually dates the item as the year in which it was assayed. In this case, the date letter refers to between 1854-55. It should be remembered that this may not be the year of manufacture.

Hallmarks can be traced back to the end of the 13th century when the first mark introduced was a leopard's head. Derivations of this mark is still in use today as the London assay mark.

As a result of forgery it became necessary to pass a statute which meant that the makers would have to have their own mark on each piece. This started as a symbol, but was changed to initials with the spread of literacy in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

However, in 1478 a further mark was added and this is what is now referred to as the date letter. Up until this time, the gold and silversmiths put the marks on themselves in their workshops. To prevent fraudulent passing of substandard items, the items had to be taken to Goldsmiths Hall to be assayed and hence the name hallmark.

The next change occurred in 1544 when the lion passant was added to silver items to indicate that they were manufactured to the sterling silver standard of 92.5%.

There was no further change until the end of the 17th century. The necessity for this was because the currency also had the same sterling standard therefore it could be melted down to create new objects.

The new standard was known as Britannia and this had a minimum silver content of 95.84%. The lion passant was dropped and a new symbol of Britannia appeared in the hallmark. At the same time the leopards head gained a crown.

In 1720 sterling was re-introduced and both standards continued from that date to the present although very little Britannia standard is found from that date until the end of the 19th century.

So far we have only mentioned assay offices in London and Birmingham. However, Scotland had an assay office in Edinburgh and the mask is distinguished by having three castle turrets. Ireland had an office in Dublin with the mark of the harp.

Provincial assay offices existed in Chester (mark: City Coat of Arms), Exeter (mark: castle), Glasgow (mark: tree, fish and bell), Newcastle (mark: three castles), Norwich (mark: castle over lion), Sheffield (mark: Crown) and York (mark: Town mark). Other minor provincial towns in England and Scotland operated for relatively short periods.

Date letters operated in cycles from A through to Z and to distinguish which cycle a piece belongs to the fonts used vary from uppercase to lowercase, italic or roman, old English or stylized fonts. The shape of the shield that the letter sits in varies and hence it is possible to be fairly precise on the actual assay date.

Collectors may well choose only items from a particular assay office. For example, Chester operated from 1686 until 1962, and there are thus fewer pieces than from say Birmingham. Sheffield has long been associated with fine silver cutlery.

There are many books on the market which give great detail not only of the date letter/year relationship, bit also some of the makers who were operating at the time. One of the most convenient is the Pocket Edition of Jackson's Hallmarks, published by the Antique Collectors Club. Internet web sites are now a source of more information on this topic.

This short piece cannot cover the whole subject of hallmarks and has not even touched on the subject of imported and foreign marks. Many other European and non European countries have similar systems and there is now an International Hallmarking Convention (1976 in the UK) which recognises each members' approved marks.

Silver Plate should not be confused with sterling silver. The plated items often have what looks like a hallmark, but careful inspection will show that although it may have a makers mark, it will probably have the letters EPNS (electro plated nickel silver).

Prices for silver fluctuate as it falls in and out of fashion. It is still possible to purchase some nice items to start a collection for fairly modest sums. Cleaning is not as difficult as it is often portrayed, but it is important not to overclean if this means polishing out the hallmark.

Please note that the above items are shown as examples of hallmarked silver and are not necessarily available for sale in the Peartree Antiques and Collectables showcases.

Hallmarked caddy spoon

1774 Chocolate Pot

1900 Vesta (for matches, Chester

1899 Silver Bowl

1899 Silver Sugar bow

1898 Siver Candlesticks