The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1907-04-15
ENGLISH HALL MARKS
The True Ones Are the Leopard
and the Lion.
LEGACY OF THE MIDDLE AGES

The System invented BY the Gold
smiths Company Of London 70
Lasting Index 70 the Age and Gen.
uinsnsss Of Old Silver Artieiss.
Every mark on your old silver means
something. and il You care to be sure
about its age or maker a study or
these marks and the system is essen
tial. A record has been kept at Gold
smiths hall, London, for ave centuries
Of all annual date letters and OF the
registered silversmiths and their pri-
vate marks.
In 1897 King Edward III. granted
charter to the Goldsmiths' guild. Dur
ing the reign Of Edward Nv. the Gold
smiths Company Of London, a. 1t
came to be known. invented ana put
into practice an alphabetical system Of
marks. changing each year. There
were similar codes In the ptovlnc1Ai
assay oflces.
This system Il one Of the few be-
quests Of the middle ages which have
stood the test Of time practically with.
out change. BY the provisions OF this
system we have not only lasting In
dex by which to Judge the age Of sold
and silver, but we have guarantee OF
genuineness.
Neither the date marks nor makers
marks are hall marirs, properly speak
ing, though I'LL marks on silver aEo
commonly referred to - hall marks.
The true hall marks are the leopard
and the lion. The leopard's head was
used first from 1900. and In 15l6 lion
PEASANT was added. These marks wero
punched into the metal with die. the
animal appearing In shield or oblong
field.
Until 1850 a small crown appeared
over the lion; from 1857 to 1850 the
puncheon followed the outline Of the
lions body; after that the lion appear
ed on an oblong shield. These various
forms Of the hall mark indicate certain
broad periods and are sometimes help
full in determining the age Of piece
Of silver when the date mark Is indis-
tinct The date letter or year mark
system seems to have been definitely
settled about 1918, for, although there
was an alphabetical system more than
fifty years before, 1t is customary to
go back to 1913 as an accurate starting
point.
Charles II. raised the standard Of the
metal, and in 1896 the new quality was
given Il new mark, Britannia sitting in
an oblong puncheon, with a lions
head erased. The standard was found
to be too scft for practical purposes,
however. and in 1920 there was a re-
turn to the old and present standard
the lion PEASANT. Naturally these Bri-
tannia pieces are rare.
Makers began to use their private
marks about 1868. At first they used
the first two letters Of the surname.
About 1880 the initials were substitute
ed. For example, prior to this date
Paul Lamerie's mark was La. After
ward it became p. l..
Thus were four marks on the silver
up to 17S4-leopard's head. lion, date
letter and makers mark. In 1854 the
sovereign's head was added-the gov
ernmental customs matchmaking five
punches in all. There were changes
from time to time in the fixed hall
marks which are worth noting. For
example, the leopard's head was set in
q puncheon following its outlines until
1878, when It began to appear In .
symmetrical shield of five sides.
In 1896 the head was reduced some
what in size. In 1720 the leopard lost
| his beard and his shield became OBJ
long, and In 1923 his crown was taken
| away from him. These were all Lon
don marks. There were In addition
| provincial marks. The Edinburgh hall
mark dates from 1857. 1t was a triple
/ turreted castle or tower. The stand
ard mark was thistle, which was
| substituted for the assay masters ini-
tials in 1857. The date letter cycles
began in Edinburgh In 1881.
Glasgow had curious emblem-a
tree with bird in the top, bell hang
| ing from one branch and fish across
! the trunk, stamped in an oval punch
con. The Sheffield and Birmingham
hall marks were a crown and an an
Choir respectively, with the lion PEASANT
| as the standard mark. Dublin had q
crowned harp.
Now, to go back to the subject Of
| date marks, cannot do more than
barely Indicate what there II IN the
| subject for those who wish to 60 into
1t seriously. Different cities or halls
had different year marks. VIII deal
only with the London marks, q being
by far the most important
| Each year had assigned to It let
| ter Of the alphabet which was stamp.
ed ON every piece Of silver made OF
sold In London that year. When the
alphabet was used up they went hack
TO A again, taking usually q slightly
different form Of letter. These alpha
bets stopped at the letter q, 80 that
| each Of these cycles b an even twenty
| wears in length