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Focus on Antique Silver
How to Care
for Your Silver
English Silver Hallmarks
by Charles
Cook
Of all of the subjects within
collecting antique silver, none can be more daunting
than learning and understanding the hallmark system.
This will be a basic overview of how the hallmark system
works and some history about the system and then we will
expand on this further in future articles.
The English hallmark system is a system of identifying,
taxing and controlling silver production. While the
hallmarking system can be traced to the early 1200’s,
the system did not really become standardized as we know
it today until 1702. We will confine our review to the
antique system which was used from 1784 until 1837 and
its major components. It is interesting to note, that it
is still used today, albeit in a modified form.
When attempting to establish the authenticity of any piece
of antique English silver, it is essential that the
marks be intact and that they are verifiable. Just so
you are aware, it is not uncommon to find authentic
pieces, where the marks have been rubbed through years
of diligent polishing. While the piece may still be
beautiful, this does greatly reduce its value.
The Basics
Any piece of antique English silver made between the years
of 1784 and 1837 should have the following marks:
 Makers
Mark- This is the mark of the maker and identifies
that this piece was made in the workshop of this maker.
In some cases it may have been completely produced from
start to finish by this maker, or in many cases it was
produced in the workshop and overseen by the maker, and
may have been finished by the primary maker. Since many
makers produced multiple pieces, this is not unusual and
it does not reduce the value. However, as with any
collectable, the rarer the item and the rarer the maker
the more valuable.
Date Letter: This is the stylized letter which
denotes the year in which the piece was made. Since the
letters are reused year after year, it is important to
carefully look at the style and design of the letter to
ascertain the exact year. In addition, it is good to
cross reference the date that you believe a piece to be
with the maker’s mark and the date that mark was first
registered. For example, if you believe you have a piece
by the famous Paul Storr and the date mark looks to be
1755, this is impossible as Paul Storr’s mark was not
entered with the London Guild until 1792 along with his
partner William Frisbee.
Lion Passant: This mark is essential to identify
that the piece is pure sterling silver. Any piece of
English silver must have this mark, or it is not pure
silver and may be plated.
City Mark: This will tell you in which city the
piece was manufactured, such as London, Sheffield,
Chester, Exeter etc. London marks tend to be the most
desirable on the mass market, however, many fine pieces
were produced in Ireland, in particular Dublin and in
Edinburgh, Scotland. The London mark is probably the
best known and it is the “Leopard’s Head Crowned”.
Please note that on pieces made from 1821 onwards, the
leopard’s head is uncrowned.
Duty Mark: This may be the trickiest of the marks,
as this can be difficult to identify and it some cases,
the pieces were made, but the duty was not paid, thus
the phrase, “duty dodging”. The lack of a duty mark does
not mean that a piece is fraudulent, but it does mean
that some caution is in order. Some makers are known for
their tendency to “forget” to pay the duty and any good
book outlining maker’s marks will note this. Prior to
1784 duty marks were not struck, so lack of this mark
on an earlier piece is not an issue.
With this, I will bring this brief overview to a close.
While this is only the basics, it gives you a good start
to begin to explore the exciting world of antique
English silver. If you are interested in further study,
or are interested in purchasing a reference book for
yourself (by the way, if you are serious about
collecting, I highly recommend this), I can suggest the
following books:
Jackson’s Hallmarks, edited by Ian Pickford
London Goldsmiths, 1697-1837, Their Marks and Lives, by
Arthur G. Grimwade
Reprinted with permission
Copyright by Charles Cook ©
Should you be interested in
viewing our antique silver pieces, please visit us at the
www.thelionpassant.com or contact us at
thelionpassant@charter.net
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