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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.
Multiple marks on silver, left to right: maker's mark , lion passant (assay mark for sterling silver), London town mark, date letter (1835), duty mark . A mark is a written or imprinted symbol used to indicate some trait of an item, for example, its ownership or maker.
Initially, hallmarks consisted of the goldsmiths' proper mark which was the maker's mark originally used to identify the silversmith or goldsmith responsible for making the article. The fineness mark, the crowned harp, was applied to 22 carat gold and sterling silver, which was silver of a standard of 925 parts of fine silver in each 1,000.
Hallmarks are often confused with "trademarks" or "maker's marks". A hallmark is not the mark of a manufacturer to distinguish their products from other manufacturers' products: that is the function of trademarks or makers' marks. To be a true hallmark, it must be the guarantee of an independent body or authority that the contents are as marked.
Silver Candlesticks by Paul de Lamerie. Hallmarked London, circa 1747-49 Lamerie's maker's mark for 1732 on the underside of a Britannia gauge waiter Soup tureen with the crest of Trinity College. In August 1703, de Lamerie became the apprentice to a London goldsmith of Huguenot origin, Pierre Platel (1659–1739).
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.
The four wardens of the Goldsmiths’ Company were tasked with visiting workshops in the City of London to assay (test) silver articles. If these articles were found to be below standard they were originally forfeit to the king, but if they passed, each article received the king's mark of authentication which was the mark of a leopard's head.
Sterling silver is an alloy composed by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. Tiffany & Co. pitcher ( c. 1871 ) having paneled sides and repoussé design with shells, scrolls and flowers; top edge is repousse arrowhead leaf design