Sterling Silver Company

Bagpipe ornaments in hand engraved sterling silver

British Hallmarking

Great Britain has an unique system of marking articles made of precious metals. Hallmarks are the symbols stamped on gold, silver or platinum articles to indicate that they have been tested at an official Assay Office and that they conform to the legal standard. With very few exceptions (such as size of the article), all gold, silver and platinum articles are required by law to be hallmarked before they are offered for sale in the United Kingdom. Hallmarking was instituted in England in 1300 under a statute of Edward I. The remainder of this discussion will only address the law as it currently affects silver.

The law was amended January 1, 1999 in order for the U.K. to be more in line with other European countries. The following examples and the discussion are current with these changes.

Below is the hallmark which would be found on Sterling Silver Bagpipe fittings, with an explanation following:

The first mark is known as the Sponsor's Mark. This is Sterling Silver Company's sponsor mark and it has been registered at the Assay Office in Edinburgh. Every company which sells its precious metal product in the U.K. must register its sponsor's mark.

The second and third marks are the Standard Marks, which provide the assurance by the Assay Office as to the purity of the metal. .925 is the purity level of sterling silver as defined by statute. The lion rampant is the pictorial symbol for sterling silver assayed in Scotland, and with the passing of the January 1999 changes, is now a voluntary mark on silver whether produced in the U.K. or imported into the U.K.

The fourth mark ,is known as the Assay Office Mark and signifies which assay office tested and marked the article. The castle mark denotes the Edinburgh Assay Office. Each of the four Assay Offices (London, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Edinburgh) has its own mark.

The last mark is the Date Letter and it denotes the year in which the article was hallmarked. The upper case italic "Z" is used to denote 1999. With the changes to the law which occurred in January 1999, this mark became voluntary, whereas previously it was required.

Because items have been hallmarked for hundreds of years, it is possible for antique buyers to identify the silversmith, as well as where and when the article was made.

We comply fully with the hallmarking laws of the United Kingdom and are registered to have our articles stamped for sale there. If you are located in the U.K., rest assured that your silver will be properly hallmarked. For buyers outside the U.K. who want to have their silver hallmarked, we can have this done for you, for a slight fee which includes the charges by the Assay Office, shipping and insurance charges. Generally, they perform the hallmarking fairly quickly.

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e-mail: sterling@wt.net