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
|