This is a brief introduction to the subject of hallmarks on English sterling silver since the 1700s.

It may enable the reader to decide whether their article is solid silver or silver plated and help identify the maker and date.

Separate guides are being written for Scottish and Irish Hallmarks.

Hallmarks

Hallmarks were introduced to protect the public from fakes, to ensure taxes were collected, and most importantly to ensure the purity of the silver (925 parts silver to 75 parts copper) from which coins were made up until 1921.

They are generally made up of up to 6 elements

Lion passant guardant
Town mark
Date letter
Maker's mark
Duty mark (for certain dates only)
Import mark (for imported wares only)

Example of set of hallmarks

In the photograph above, from left to right

Lion Passant Guardant
Town Mark - Leopard - London
Date Letter - u
Duty Mark
Makers mark - FE

If you think it is sterling silver then first look for the Lion Passant Guardant symbol to establish it really is.

Town Marks

This is the mark of the town where the piece was checked for purity before it could be hallmarked . The date when the assay office closed is given in brackets below.

London - Leopard
Sheffield - Crown until 1973 then a Rose
Birmingham - Anchor
Chester (closed 1962) - Sword erect between 3 wheat sheaves
Exeter (closed 1883) - Triple towered castle
York - (closed 1858) - 5 Lion Passant symbols in a cross
Newcastle (closed 1884) - Three towers
Norwich closed around 1701 and Bristol closed in 1740

All of the town marks can be found on the web but photographs are being added to this guide.

Date Letters

The cycle of date letters vary according to the town so an "a" stamped on a piece made in Birmingham indicates a different date from an "a" stamped on a piece made in London
The shape of the letter (upper case, italics etc) and the shape of the shield surrounding the letter vary with each cycle of date letters

A section on how to date silver is given further below.

Makers Mark

Makers marks were introduced in 1300
Each maker had a unique stamp by which people could recognise their work
Initials are used predominately
Prestigious or common makers marks such as Mappin&Webb, Walker & Hall, William Bateman, Paul Storr and Robert Welch can be found all over the www
To find the maker, without using a book, first identify possibilities from the lists in my other guides below and search on the www for a photograph of the appropriate makers mark to match against

Lists of the 19th & 20th makers against each town, are given in other guides I have published and the links to these are given below.

London 19th/20th century makers - London Makers
Sheffield 19th/20th century makers - Sheffield Makers
Birmingham 19th/20th century makers - Birmingham Makers

Duty Mark

This mark indicates that the required tax has been paid on the piece.

The duty mark was the current sovereign's head
It was introduced in 1784 and discontinued in 1889
Certain small pieces were exempt

If your piece has the head of a king or queen on it, as part of the hallmarks, then it was made between 1784 and 1889.

Import Mark

From 1842 it was against the law to import silver (or gold) into Britain without assaying it (and hallmarking it) for its purity.

From 1867 to 1904 the foreign mark "F" was added to hallmarks of imported wares
From 1904 the decimal value of the silver replaced the F

If your piece has an "F" as part of its hallmarks then it was made between 1867 and 1904 and was made outside of Great Britain.

Dating Sterling Silver

First establish it is sterling silver by finding the Lion Passant
Then establish the town
Then

either:
Search on the web for say Sheffield silver date letters. Try to find 2 sites to verify it (some are wrong)
Or:
try using a book - for quick dating I use the pocket edition of Jackson's Hallmarks which gives date cycles from 1300 to 1974 but there are many books available.
Or:
try a forum - there is an excellent one on the www but I am not allowed to post a link to it here
Or:
you can ASQ me if you are stuck

Try to validate your answer with the makers mark and duty mark if possible eg the maker should have been alive when the piece was made!
Use the shape of the shields to differentiate between similar shaped letters in different date cycles

Introduction to English Sterling Silver Hallmarks

This is a brief introduction to the subject of hallmarks on English sterling silver since the 1700s.

It may enable the reader to decide whether their article is solid silver or silver plated and help identify the maker and date.

Separate guides are being written for Scottish and Irish Hallmarks.

Hallmarks

Hallmarks were introduced to protect the public from fakes, to ensure taxes were collected, and most importantly to ensure the purity of the silver (925 parts silver to 75 parts copper) from which coins were made up until 1921.

They are generally made up of up to 6 elements

Lion passant guardant

Town mark

Date letter

Maker's mark

Duty mark (for certain dates only)

Import mark (for imported wares only)

Example of set of hallmarks

In the photograph above, from left to right

Lion Passant Guardant

Town Mark - Leopard - London

Date Letter - u

Duty Mark

Makers mark - FE

If you think it is sterling silver then first look for the Lion Passant Guardant symbol to establish it really is.

Town Marks

This is the mark of the town where the piece was checked for purity before it could be hallmarked . The date when the assay office closed is given in brackets below.

London - Leopard

Sheffield - Crown until 1973 then a Rose

Birmingham - Anchor

Chester (closed 1962) - Sword erect between 3 wheat sheaves

Exeter (closed 1883) - Triple towered castle

York - (closed 1858) - 5 Lion Passant symbols in a cross

Newcastle (closed 1884) - Three towers

Norwich closed around 1701 and Bristol closed in 1740

All of the town marks can be found on the web but photographs are being added to this guide.

Date Letters

The cycle of date letters vary according to the town so an "a" stamped on a piece made in Birmingham indicates a different date from an "a" stamped on a piece made in London

The shape of the letter (upper case, italics etc) and the shape of the shield surrounding the letter vary with each cycle of date letters

A section on how to date silver is given further below.

Makers Mark

Makers marks were introduced in 1300

Each maker had a unique stamp by which people could recognise their work

Initials are used predominately

Prestigious or common makers marks such as Mappin&Webb, Walker & Hall, William Bateman, Paul Storr and Robert Welch can be found all over the www

To find the maker, without using a book, first identify possibilities from the lists in my other guides below and search on the www for a photograph of the appropriate makers mark to match against

Lists of the 19th & 20th makers against each town, are given in other guides I have published and the links to these are given below.

London 19th/20th century makers - London Makers

Sheffield 19th/20th century makers - Sheffield Makers

Birmingham 19th/20th century makers - Birmingham Makers

Duty Mark

This mark indicates that the required tax has been paid on the piece.

The duty mark was the current sovereign's head

It was introduced in 1784 and discontinued in 1889

Certain small pieces were exempt

If your piece has the head of a king or queen on it, as part of the hallmarks, then it was made between 1784 and 1889.

Import Mark

From 1842 it was against the law to import silver (or gold) into Britain without assaying it (and hallmarking it) for its purity.

From 1867 to 1904 the foreign mark "F" was added to hallmarks of imported wares

From 1904 the decimal value of the silver replaced the F

If your piece has an "F" as part of its hallmarks then it was made between 1867 and 1904 and was made outside of Great Britain.

Dating Sterling Silver

First establish it is sterling silver by finding the Lion Passant

Then establish the town

Then

either:

Search on the web for say Sheffield silver date letters. Try to find 2 sites to verify it (some are wrong)

Or:

try using a book - for quick dating I use the pocket edition of Jackson's Hallmarks which gives date cycles from 1300 to 1974 but there are many books available.

Or:

try a forum - there is an excellent one on the www but I am not allowed to post a link to it here

Or:

you can ASQ me if you are stuck

Try to validate your answer with the makers mark and duty mark if possible eg the maker should have been alive when the piece was made!

Use the shape of the shields to differentiate between similar shaped letters in different date cycles

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