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BRITISH HALLMARKS

A typical set of antique British silver hallmarks showing (left to right);

1.Standard Mark, 2.City Mark, 3.Date Letter, 4.Duty Mark and 5.Maker's Mark
This set of marks tells us that this piece was made of Sterling, in the city of London, in the
year 1789, during the reign of King George III, by the silversmith Thomas Wallis.
{note - British hallmarks come in sets, the rule of thumb is, if you do not have a complete set
including:
Standard mark, city mark, date letter and maker's mark [+ a duty mark if 1785-1890], the
item is
either from another country or a piece of silverplate with a hallmark-like trademark.}

READING & RESEARCHING BRITISH HALLMARKS

There is a logical progression to reading a set of British hallmarks, following this order will
save you some time and confusion in your research.
1. Establish that it has one of the Silver Standard Marks, if not it is likely silverplate or from a
different country.
2. Locate and identify the City Mark.
3. Note whether it has a sovereign's head Duty Mark - or not. The sovereign's head, or lack
thereof, will narrow the date range.
4. Having identified the city mark, click on the link to its date chart and find your Date Letter.
5. Identify the Maker's Mark, they are listed by city and in alphabetical order by the first initial
1. SILVER STANDARD MARKS

The Standard mark indicates the

purity of the silver. A - Sterling .925 B - Britannia .958, used exclusively 1697 - 1720, optional
afterwards. C - Sterling .925 for Glasgow D - Sterling .925 for Edinburgh E - Sterling .925 for
Dublin

2. CITY MARKS (and the most common standard marks found with them)

London, England (1300 - Present) The crowned leopard's head

was used 1478 - 1822, the uncrowned from 1822 - Present.

Birmingham, England (1773 - Present)

Chester, England (1701 - 1962)

Exeter, England (1701 - 1883)

Newcastle, England (1702 - 1884)

Sheffield, England (1773 - Present)

York, England (1559 - 1858) Until 1701 only city mark, date
letter and maker's mark.

Dublin, Ireland (1636 - Present)

Edinburgh, Scotland (1681 - 1974) From 1975 to present, a lion

rampant mark (same as Glasgow's) has replaced the Thistle as the standard mark.

Glasgow, Scotland (1681 - 1964) Until 1819 only city mark, date
letter and maker's mark.
3. DUTY MARKS

In 1784 the duty mark was created to indicate a

tax on the item had been paid to the crown. The mark used was a profile portrait of the
reigning monarch's head. The use of this mark was abolished in 1890.
1. 1785 (from
12/1/1784) King George III 2. 1786 - 1821 King George III 3. 1822 - 1833 King George IV 4.
1834 - 1837 King William IV 5. 1838 - 1890 Queen Victoria

4. DATE LETTERS

The date letter system was introduced in London in

1478 (elsewhere as the hallmarking system evolved). Its purpose was to establish when a
piece was presented for assay or testing of the silver content. The mark letter changed
annually in May, the cycles of date letters were usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was
differentiated by a changing of the font, letter case and shield shape.
5. MAKER'S MARK
The enforced use of the maker's mark was instituted in London in 1363. Its
purpose was to prevent the forgery of leopards head marks upon silver of debased content
by providing an indication of the party responsible for the piece. Originally, makers' marks
were pictograms, but by the beginning of the 17th Century it had become common practice
to use the maker's initials.
6. IMPORT MARKS

The required use of import marks to be stamped on foreign made silver was
instituted in 1867. A letter "F" in an oval cartouche was stamped alongside the regular
hallmarks, the maker's mark being that of the British importing firm (sponsor's mark).
Beginning in 1904 and new system was instituted in which each assay office stamped its own
symbol as the import mark, this replaced the town mark. The lion passant mark was replaced
by a numerical standard mark. Unchanged were the required date letter and sponsor's mark.
Items bearing British Import marks will sometimes have additional marks from the country of
origin, sometimes not.
ELECTROPLATED SILVER
The more common town symbols used by electroplaters were:

G = Glasgow

L = London

M = Manchester

S = Sheffield

A1 (or AI)= Superior Quality = 32 grams on 12 pieces = 2 2/3 grams per table spoon or table fork

METAL ALLOY
British makers adopted a letter code to identify the base metal and/or the different silver
plating process used on their "Plated" wares.
The most common was EPNS (Electro Plated Nickel Silver), but many other symbols were
used, as EBPM (Electro Plated Britannia Metal), EPCA (Electro Plated Copper Alloy), PGS
(Plated German silver), MP (Magnetic Plating), PS (Plated Steel), WP (White metal Plated), EP
(Electro Plated) and others that I was unable to identify with certainty (BP)

BP": BRITANNIA PLATE (possibly)

EPNS": ELECTRO PLATED NICKEL SILVER

MARKS ON OUR SILVER
A- silver tongs
BELL- teapot and sugar bowl
DR- dog spoon

FE Bowden & sons- serving platter with decorative edge

Plymouth
HA
ATKIN BROTHERS (SILVERSMITHS) LTD
AND THEIR PREDECESSORS
THOMAS LAW (& CO) - JOHN LAW - JOHN LAW & SONS - LAW, OXLEY & ATKIN
ATKIN, OXLEY & CO - HENRY ATKIN & CO - ATKIN BROTHERS

Atkin Brothers, mark entered 1853 by Harry Wright Atkin

and after 1905 by his son Harry Atkin

Atkin Brothers, c. 1923-1955

The other marks visible here are the Lion

Passant denoting 925 sterling silver, the Crown identifying the Assay Office to be Sheffield and
the date letter for 1887 / 1888.
HP- toast rack

H.P into a rectangle Henry Potter entered

1860 London 1884 hallmark

JAMES DIXON AND SONS- small butter knives

J/ B- small gravy boat

JB into a chamfered rectangle Jane Brownett

(entered 1868) or John Batson (entered 1874), London 1883 hallmark

JB into two conjoined circles John Biggin and John Biggin Ltd , Sheffield
1908 hallmark
J&RG- silver spoon

J & R Griffin -Joseph & Richard Griffin- Chester 1916 hallmark

L
PAGE, KEEN & PAGE- teapot
Plymouth

WH- serving platter with scalloped edge/ small butter knife shaped like fish knife

Sons The crossed arrows marks appeared in 1900

William Hutton &