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The Birmingham Assay Office, one of the four assay offices in the United Kingdom, is located in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.The development of a silver industry in 18th century Birmingham was hampered by the legal requirement that items of solid silver be assayed, and the nearest Assay Offices were in Chester and London. [1]
The mark for silver meeting the sterling standard of purity is the Lion Passant, but there have been other variations over the years, most notably the mark indicating Britannia purity. The Britannia standard was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720 to try to help prevent British sterling silver coins from being melted to make silver plate.
Nathaniel Mills the Elder (1746–1843) was a partner in Mills & Langston, Northwood Jewellers when he registered his first mark in 1803. [1] In 1825, he registered his well-known now punch mark 'N.M' within a rectangle at the Birmingham Assay Office and concentrated on working with silver on his own. [2]
A set of hallmarks on an English silver spoon. From left to right, the maker's mark of George Unite, the date letter (1889), the Birmingham Assay Office mark, the lion passant and the monarch's head tax-mark. In 1355, individual maker marks were introduced in France.
A spoon, hallmarked 1899, and carrying the "GU" mark. Close up of maker's mark and hallmarks Printed advert for George Unite & Sons. George Unite (1798 – 19 October 1896) was an English silversmith working in Birmingham, England. [2] Unite was born in Birmingham in 1798 to Samuel and Prudence Unite. He was apprenticed to Joseph Willmore in ...
Elkington Beverage Service. Circa 1870. It was founded by George Richards Elkington and his cousin, Henry Elkington, in the 1830s. It operated under the name G. R. Elkington & Co. until 1842, when a third partner, Josiah Mason, joined the firm.
Timothy Tuttle formed the Tuttle Silver Company in 1890, in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.. His first work was to duplicate sterling pieces by special order. And because the pieces he duplicated were generally English sterling pieces, the original Tuttle pieces are dated in the English custom, with the crest of the reigning monarch of the times, to indicate the time period.
Britannia silver is an alloy of silver containing 11 ozt 10 dwt (i.e. 11½ troy oz.) silver in the pound troy, equivalent to 23 ⁄ 24, or 95.833% by weight silver, the rest usually being copper. This standard was introduced in England by Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace sterling silver (92.5% silver) as the obligatory standard for items of ...