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British Sterling Silver and Gold Hallmarking from 1300 AD to present

Hallmarking is necessary because when jewellery is manufactured, precious metals are not used in their pure form, as they are unworkable. Gold, Silver, and Platinum are always alloyed with copper or other metals to create an alloy that is more suitable to the requirements of the jeweller. Such an alloy needs to be strong, workable and attractive.

Due to the high value of gold, platinum and silver, there are significant profits to be gained by reducing the precious metal content of an alloy at the manufacturing stage. Even an expert cannot determine the quality or standard of precious metal items by eye or touch alone. Base metal articles plated with a thin coat of gold or silver are indistinguishable from the same articles made wholly of precious metal until subjected to expert testing.

With volume manufacturing, enormous profits can be made from undercarating. Without compulsory independent testing there is huge potential for deception and fraud.

The UK Hallmarking system has offered valuable protection for over 700 years. Compulsory Hallmarking protects all parties; the public who receive a guarantee of quality, the manufacturer who is given quality control and protection from dishonest competitors at a very low cost and the retailer who avoids the near impossible task of checking standards on all his goods.

Brief History of UK Hallmarks
Hallmarking is the world's first known instance of consumer protection law, in the UK it dates back to about 1300 AD.

Date

Event

1300

Hallmarking introduced in UK

1378

Town Marks Introduced

1477

18 Carat Replaces 191/5 Carat as Standard Gold

1478

Date Letters Introduced

1478

London Assay Office Opened

1544

Lion Mark Introduced for Sterling Silver

1575

22 Carat Replaces 18 Carat as Standard Gold

1681

First Edinburgh Date Letters

1697

Britannia Mark Introduced for Silver

1701

Castle Mark Introduced for Exeter

1720

Sterling Silver Standard Re-admitted

1731

Hibernia Mark Introduced for Dublin

1759

Thistle Mark Introduced for Edinburgh

1773

Birmingham Assay Office Opened

1773

Sheffield Assay Office Opened

1774

Duty Mark Imposed

1798

18 Carat Reintroduced in Addition to 22 Carat

1819

Lion Rampant Mark Introduced for Glasgow

1842

Customs Act Requiring Foreign Goods to Have British Hallmark

1854

9 Carat Introduced

1854

12 Carat Introduced

1854

15 Carat Introduced

1856

York Assay Office Closed

1867

Foreign Mark Introduced

1882

Exeter Assay Office Closed

1890

Duty Mark Dropped

1904

Carat Marks Compulsory on Gold

1932

12 Carat Mark Discontinued

1932

15 Carat Mark Discontinued

1932

14 Carat Introduced

1934 - 1935

Silver Jubilee Mark Used

1952 - 1953

Silver Jubilee Mark Used

1953 - 1954

Coronation Mark Used

1962

Chester Assay Office Closed

1964

Glasgow Assay Office Closed

1973

Hallmarking Act

1974

British Hallmarking Council Formed

1976

Platinum Mark Introduced

1976

UK Ratifies Convention Mark

1977

Silver Jubilee Mark Used

1998

Revised Hallmarking Acts

1999

New Acts Become Effective

1999 - 2000

Millennium Mark Used

A typical set of antique British silver hallmarks showing; Standard Mark, City Mark, Date Letter, Duty Mark and Maker's Mark.

The Standard mark indicates the purity of the silver.
A - Sterling .925
B - Britannia .958, used exclusively 1697 - 1720, optional afterwards.
C - Sterling .925 for Glasgow
D - Sterling .925 for Edinburgh
E - Sterling .925 for Dublin

The date letter system was introduced in London in 1478 (elsewhere as the hallmarking system evolved). Its purpose was to establish when a piece was presented for assay or testing of the silver content. The mark letter changed annually in May, the cycles of date letters were usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was differentiated by a changing of the font, letter case and shield shape.

In 1784 the duty mark was created to show that a tax on the item had been paid to the crown. The mark used was a profile portrait of the current reigning monarch's head. The use of this mark was abolished in 1890.

The enforced use of the maker's mark was instituted in London in 1363. Its purpose was to prevent the forgery of leopard's head marks upon silver of debased content. Originally, makers' marks were pictograms, but by the beginning of the 17th Century it had become common practice to use the maker's initials.

About the Author

My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History which is great fun to research.

 

I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions. At present I have written over 100 articles which I call "An Englishman's Favourite Bits Of England" in various Volumes. Please visit my fun Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Com where I have listed all my fun articles to date.

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

 

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Metals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.