A silver object that is to be sold commercially is, in most countries, stamped with one or more silver hallmarks indicating the purity of the silver, the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith, and other (optional) markings to indicate date of manufacture and additional information about the piece. Therefore, hallmarking is generally done before the piece goes for its final polishing. The hallmark for sterling silver varies from nation to nation, often using distinctive historic symbols, although Dutch and UK Assay offices no longer strike their traditional hallmarks exclusively in their own territories and undertake assay in other countries using marks that are the same as those used domestically. One of the most highly structured hallmarking systems in the world is that of the United Kingdom, (Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and Ireland. In some countries, the testing of silver objects and marking of purity is controlled by a national assayer’s office. Hallmarks are applied with a hammer and punch, a process that leaves sharp edges and spurs of metal.

Jewelry Findings Sterling Silver

These five nations have, historically, provided a wealth of information about a piece through their series of applied punches. The city mark no longer indicates the city in which the piece was assayed, or that the item was assayed in the UK. An additional mark to indicate that an item was assayed outside the UK is likely to be introduced in 2018. Sheffield Assay have a sub-office in Malpensa, Italy. A stamp indicating the purity of the silver is called the assayer’s mark. Since July 2016 Birmingham Assay Office have been striking Birmingham Hallmarks in Mumbai, India and there are proposals for further offshore marking centres. The purity mark for Irish silver is the harp crowned. 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. London and Edinburgh Assay Offices are the only two Assay offices exclusively striking hallmarks in the UK. Each silver maker has his or her own, unique maker’s mark. 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 date mark is a letter indicating the exact year in which the piece was made. It became an optional standard thereafter, and in the United Kingdom and Ireland is now denoted by the millesimal fineness hallmark “958”, with the symbol of Britannia being applied optionally. A Legislative Reform Order (LRO) came into law on 8 February 2013 giving UK Assay Offices the legal right to strike hallmarks outside of UK territory. Irish silver also contains the image of Hibernia. The Legislative Reform Order (LRO) which came into law on 8 February 2013 also changed the requirements for sponsor marks, allowing logos to be used for the first time, as long as they provide the required traceability. This mark was introduced in 1730, and is still in use today. The typeface, whether the letter is uppercase or lowercase, and even the shape inside which the letter is stamped, must all be taken together to determine the year. In March 2018 the British Hallmarking Council announced that in future, items assayed and marked offshore must be distinguishable from those assayed in the UK. This hallmark is usually a set of initials inside an escutcheon.

The series of hallmarks described above are still in use in today. Both standards are marked with the head of Minerva inclusive of a numeral 1 or 2 to indicate the standard. Beginning on 1 December 1784, British law mandated that a duty mark be applied to silver pieces. This is generally not done today. Silver at that time was sometimes marked “COIN” or “PURE COIN”, but can also be without a standard mark altogether. These marks were used as a record of the pieces made by each journeyman so that each could be given proper payment. Prior to the general adoption of sterling silver as the standard of purity in 1868, silver was generally obtained from the melting of coins. The lower grade of silver is 800 parts per thousand, or 80% silver referred to as 2nd Standard. Since these could vary considerably in purity, from around .750 millesimal fineness to around .900, silver known as “coin silver” varies in purity. While American manufacturers did not apply assay marks, city marks or date marks, they did apply a maker’s mark. After the adoption of the sterling standard, pieces were marked with “STERLING“, the number “925” or the notation “925/1000”. French silver also is punched with the mark of the maker, by law in the shape of a lozenge, usually with the maker’s initials and a symbol. The duty mark was a profile of the head of the current reigning monarch. French silver made for export carries an assay mark in the shape of the head of Mercury, along with a number to indicate the millesimal fineness: “1” for .920, “2” for .840 and “3” for .750. An additional British hallmark that is no longer used is the tally mark, which was the unique mark of a journeyman finishing his apprenticeship. The French have two standards for silver purity or fineness. The higher is 950 parts per thousand, or 95% silver referred to as 1st Standard. The United States also had no date marking system. Between 1867 and 1933, Austria-Hungary and later, Hungary used the crescent moon crowned head of ancient Greek heroine Diana as the hallmarking symbol of legal silver alloys. This showed that the requisite tax had been paid to the Crown. Because of this, some companies within the U.S., such as Tiffany, Reed & Barton and Gorham, adopted their own date marking systems. Since the year 1838, the French assay mark for items made of solid silver is the head of the goddess Minerva in profile. The old hallmarks were as unique as today’s logos, and disputes often arose when one company copied another’s stamp.

The head was encircled by a frame, optionally composed of convex, concave and straight lines. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. San Bernardino, CA: AAA Publishing. 800 thousands fineness, a local silver standard commonly used in table forks and spoons. Rainwater, Dorothy T.; Redfield, Judy (1998). The Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers (fourth ed.). A comprehensive guide to American sterling silver flatware. Meanwhile, a hexagonal frame represented 900 fine silver. Makers mark library, history, and care of silver. Hood, William P. Jr. (1999). Tiffany Silver Flatware, 1845 – 1905: When Dining Was an Art. Suffolk, England.: Antique Collectors Club. This same system was also used to frame gold hallmarks. Cinamon, Diana Sanders (2007). All About Antique Silver with International Hallmarks. International Hallmarks on Silver Collected by Tardy (reprint ed.). Wyler, Seymour B. (1937). The Book of Old Silver, English – American – Foreign, With All Available Hallmarks Including Sheffield Plate Marks. New York, NY: Crown Publishers. From 1929, Japan Mint assays and hallmarks the articles made of silver. The hallmarks of Japan Mint have the figure of the national flag of Japan. Venable, Charles L. (1997). Silver in America, 1840 – 1940: A Century of Splendor (third ed.). New York, NY.: Harry N. Abrams.