Dealer’s notice

The hallmarking system in Britain has a long history, and it can claim to be the oldest form of consumer protection in the country.

The earliest statute concerning gold and silver is that of 1238, when the standards of fineness were laid down, but the true beginning of hallmarking dates from 1300, when it was decreed that no piece of silver “was to depart out of the hands of the workers” until it had been assayed (or tested) and marked with the leopard’s head. The standard of silver was to be sterling, or 92.7% pure, which was the same standard as the coinage.

In order to supervise the craft, it was obvious that some way had to be found to identify the maker of substandard wares, and so in 1363 it was commanded that each Master Goldsmith should have his own mark, which had to be registered.

Then there is also the date letter. The first full cycle of date letters in London started with A in 1478, and continued in 20-year cycles without a break until 1696, when a new series commenced with the new Britannia standard. Since then, each new cycle, differentiated by changing styles of letter and/or shields, has been unbroken.

Lastly we have the Lion Passant, the sterling mark. It made its first appearance in 1544. It was perhaps struck by the Goldsmiths’ Company as an indication that their hallmarks wares were sterling, even if the coinage were not.

I hope you liked this little bit of history.

Below an example using a heavy sterling silver ring I made.

Björn Altmann, Greenwich, London