ENGLISH, SCOTTISH AND IRISH SILVER HALLMARKS
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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.
Follow this link to learn HOW TO READ ENGLISH/BRITISH STERLING SILVER MARKS
This is the combination of marks used to assay silver:
Town mark, corresponding to the hallmark of the Assay Office which verified the piece
Lion passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased, certifying the silver quality
Maker's mark, identifying the silversmith presenting the piece to the assay office (usually the initials of Christian name and surname of the silversmith)
Date letter, in cycles of twenty letters of the alphabet of different shape identifies the year in which the piece was verified by the Assay Office
A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of the duty
Follow this link to learn HOW TO READ ENGLISH/BRITISH STERLING SILVER MARKS
This is the combination of marks used to assay silver:
Town mark, corresponding to the hallmark of the Assay Office which verified the piece
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Lion passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased, certifying the silver quality
Maker's mark, identifying the silversmith presenting the piece to the assay office (usually the initials of Christian name and surname of the silversmith)
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Date letter, in cycles of twenty letters of the alphabet of different shape identifies the year in which the piece was verified by the Assay Office
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A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of the duty
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BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS
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London
Birmingham
Dublin
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Sheffield
ChesterCHESTER DATE LETTERS CHART / SILVER HALLMARKS UK |
CHESTER SILVER DATE MARKS
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NOTE: in most cases the actual date letter contour of the period 1901-1925 is a chamfered corners square (similar to the series 1884-1900)
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BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS
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| HALLMARKS OF BRITISH SILVER MAKERS: ENGLAND - SCOTLAND - IRELAND - CHANNEL ISLANDS - COLONIES |
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HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER -
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION
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| BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - MAKER'S AND SPONSOR'S MARKS IDENTIFICATION - MARK'S IMAGE - |
| STERLING SILVER OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND IRELAND ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF MAKER'S MARKS |
| AA/AE AF/AZ BA/BZ CA/CH CI/CZ DA/DZ EA/EZ FA/FZ GA/GZ HA/HG HH/HZ IA/IG IH/IZ JA/JC JD/JI JJ/JP JQ/JS JT/JZ KA/LZ MA/MZ NA/PA PB/PZ QA/RJ RK/RZ SA/SG SH/SZ TA/TH TI/TZ UA/WB WC/WF WG/WL WM/WS WT/ZZ |
| ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES |
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X/Y Z |
| LISTING OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES |
| THE DIRECTORY OF SCOTLAND (PROVINCIAL) - CHANNEL ISLANDS - CANADA - AUSTRALIA - CAPE COLONY |
| SCOTTISH PROVINCIAL SILVER CHANNEL ISLANDS SILVER CANADA SILVER AUSTRALIA SILVER CAPE COLONY SILVER |
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