Silver · Reference
Silver hallmarks
Silver hallmarks are the row of small punches an assay office struck into a piece after testing it. Read left to right they give the metal, the office, the year and the maker. This index has one page per mark, with what it certifies, when it was struck and the marks it gets confused with.
Start with the hallmarks guide if the row on your piece means nothing yet. If you already know which mark you are looking at, find it below. To read a whole row at once, the identifier takes the marks you can see and returns the metal, office, year and maker.
Hallmarks
Assay offices
6 pages
- London silver hallmarksAssayed at the London Assay Office, Goldsmiths' Hall. 1300 to date
- Birmingham silver hallmarksAssayed at the Birmingham Assay Office. 1773 to date
- Sheffield silver hallmarksAssayed at the Sheffield Assay Office. 1773 to date
- Chester silver hallmarksAssayed at the Chester Assay Office. 1701 to 1962
- Scottish silver hallmarksAssayed at Edinburgh, or at Glasgow to 1964. Edinburgh 1485 to date. Glasgow as an office 1819 to 1964
- Irish silver hallmarksAssayed at the Dublin Assay Office. 1637 to date
Hallmarks
Standard and other marks
2 pages
Hallmarks
Plate and electroplate marks
1 page
Hallmarks
Marks from other countries
2 pages
Guides
Start here
The three guides that explain how the marks work together.
Silver · 8 min
How to read British silver hallmarks
Four punches, read left to right, tell you what the metal is, where it was tested, when, and who made it. This guide walks through each one with real pieces.
Silver · 5 min
Silver date letters, explained
Every assay office stamped a hallmark date letter that changed yearly. How the cycles work, why the shield beats the letter, and how to find the year.
Silver · 6 min