News & Updates:
Like the website?
|
English - Part 1
|
|
||||
|
Silver is a so-called 'noble' metal, both its appearance and its uses have earned it this title. It has been employed for many centuries for coinage, jewellery and for making useful and ornamental articles. The pure metal is too soft to withstand normal wear and tear, and therefore it has to be mixed with small proportions of others to make an alloy strong enough to retain its shape and thickness. Without complicated tests it is not possible to tell just how much actual silver is contained in any given quantity of the alloy, and a clear field is left for fraud. To safeguard the purchaser a system of testing and marking, known as 'Hall-marking' because it was first carried out at Goldsmith's Hall in London, was instituted as long ago as the year 1300.
From then onwards a number of statutes directed that silverware should be marked with a lion passant to denote it was up to sterling standard, then with a further mark indicating the maker; and another, a letter of the alphabet, standing for the year in which the marking was done. Additional modifications included a figure of Britannia stamped on pieces with a higher percentage of pure silver than the normal; a mark showing the town where the assay was made: a leopard's head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a crown for Sheffield, etc.; and the head of the sovereign from 1784 until 1890 denoting that Excise Duty on the article had been paid. The marks can be checked against published tables which are obtainable easily, and from them can be learned the exact year in which a piece was marked. It is also possible in most instances to trace the name of the maker. Although silver is valued by weight it is offered for sale usually by the piece, and the more an article is in demand the higher is the price per ounce. It should be remembered that silversmiths use Troy weight: 1 pound = 12 ounces 1 ounce = 20 pennyweights (dwts.) 1 dwt. = 24 grains year ( 1783 ), town (LONDON)
STERLING SILVER, maker STANDARD (HESTER BATEMAN) Fig. 6. Examples of marks on a spoon, 1783.
| ||||||
|
 Subscribe                       
Add URL - antiquesreferenceguide.com Blog
Related terms you should consider: antique furniture price guide and antique collecting guide historical print - Also see lcd monitor covers for good info. All Rights Reserved. - Site Map - Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Terms of Use - Contact |
||||||
