We are Antiques and Collectables dealers specialising in Antique English Silver based in Torquay, Devon, UK.
We are proud to be eBay Platinum Powersellers and proprietors of the eBay store Mixed-
You are welcome to browse here Mixed-
The English Hallmarking System was introduced in 1300.
British sterling silver usually bears at least four marks
The makers mark, Sterling Standard mark, Town assay mark and date letter. In 1544 the lion passant was adopted as the silver standard mark.
The four most often found town assay marks are London which has the leopard’s head mark, Birmingham which has the anchor mark, Sheffield which until 1975 had the crown mark and since 1976 has used the Tudor rose and Chester (closed 1962) which used a variant of the City Arms, a sword and three wheatsheaves. There are also numerous Provincial marks.
The quality of English silver bearing the standard hallmark is 92.5 percent pure silver, known as STERLING. 100 percent pure silver is too soft to be durable.
Date letters were standardised in 1975 but before this each assay office had their own sequence of date letters.
Another mark which makes date identification easier is the Sovereign’s Head Duty Mark. In 1784 a new tax was put on silver and a fifth mark was added to the usual four hallmarks to signify that the tax had been paid. The mark was the Sovereign’s head in profile and began with the head of George III. This tax continued with George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria until 1890 when the tax was abolished.
The Jubilee Mark of the heads in profile of King George V and Queen Mary was used in 1933, 1934 and 1935 and the Coronation Mark of the head in profile of Queen Elizabeth II was used in 1952 and 1953.
