sterling silver marks, hallmarks, history, dates (2024)

FAQs

How can you tell how old a silver hallmark is? ›

Silver Hallmarks UK Date Letters

To save space in the tiny British hallmarks, the year is indicted by a letter of the alphabet. In order to avoid any confusion, at various times either one of the letters i , J and L have been omitted. Therefore, each period of alphabetic sequences consists of 25 letters - not 26.

Silver hallmarks comprise four main elements to tell you this: the town mark, the date letter, the maker's mark, and the lion passant. During the period between 1784-1890 a duty was placed on gold and silver, leading to the introduction of the duty mark.

Miller's Silver Marks app is the only product that will enable you to identify an unknown piece of silver from any country around the world – quickly and confidently. It is an essential tool for collectors, academics, dealers and students.

If you think a piece might be silver, the first mark to look for is a standard mark – the leopard's head, lion passant, lion's head erased, seated figure of Britannia or, for imported items, . 925 or . 9584 in an oval shield. Having found a standard mark, next find where the item was assayed.

To save the space used in hallmarking, the year is indicated by letters of the alphabet. In order to avoid any confusion, at various times either one of the letters "I", "J" and "L" have been omitted.

You'll also find a letter stamp telling you when the silver piece was made. Each year is assigned one letter of the alphabet, and a new cycle starts with a different font.

Image courtesy of I Franks Antique Silver. The hallmarks on a piece of antique British silver typically signify (from left to right): the maker, the purity, the assay office, the date it was assayed and the duty mark (for items from 1784 to 1890). Image courtesy of I Franks Antique Silver.

Antique and vintage silver items, however, have the potential to be very valuable. If any silver that you own is sterling, it will have a '925' hallmark on the item. Without this mark, you cannot guarantee a sterling grade for your silver. There is also Britannic grade silver, which is hallmarked with a '958'.

Silver Marks - Makers Database on the App Store.

What is the difference between sterling silver and hallmarked silver? ›

Sterling silver and silver look exactly the same, and if you have silver jewelry, it's most likely sterling. The best indicator is the marking, or hallmark, stamped on in small numbers or letters. Sterling silver will have a 925 or STER, and fine silver will have a 999 or FS.

Silver Hallmark Identification

This stamp is the classic Lion passant facing left, and confirms the item is made of Sterling quality silver. The leopard head, without a crown, denotes the item was assayed at the London Assay Office after 1820.

The silver standard mark

Standard marks indicate that the silver content is 925 parts of pure silver per 1000 and show where the silver item was made. For English silver the standard mark is a lion passant, while Scottish silver bears the mark of a thistle (Glasgow) and lion rampant (Glasgow and Edinburgh from 1975).

Much like an 935 silver mark, an 835 mark means that 835 parts out of 1000 are sterling silver, or the item is 83.5% pure sterling silver. Whilst this is still a good sign that you have real, antique silver, 835 silver is lower-grade than 925 and 935 silver, meaning it is less pure.

The alloy used contained 80% silver and 20% copper. 88 zolotnik Russian silver has the equivalent millesimal fineness of 916[6]. The alloy contains 91.66% pure silver and 8.34% copper or other metals. (The description of the zolotnik is above.)

The use of the stamp "sterling" (92.5% silver) started after 1870. In modern times, the purity marks for 925 sterling silver jewelry are “925,” “STERLING,” “STG,” or “STER.” For gold-plated sterling silver, some jewelers use the word " Vermeil.” As the name suggests, these hallmarks refer to the maker of the jewelry.

Standard marks indicate that the silver content is 925 parts of pure silver per 1000 and show where the silver item was made. For English silver the standard mark is a lion passant, while Scottish silver bears the mark of a thistle (Glasgow) and lion rampant (Glasgow and Edinburgh from 1975).

The UK introduced the 1973 Hallmarking Act to help standardise the industry, and integrate with international hallmarking practices. Since that time any items claiming to be made of silver, that weigh 7.78 grams or more, legally require a hallmark. Modern silver hallmarks are far easier to identify.