Hall marks on gold & silver plate

THE STANDARD. 121
cording to the number of gold coins that can be made out of an
ounce of gold. This simple fact has not been generally observed.
There are five standards for gold, and two for silver. The
manufacturer may use either at his cption, informing the authorities
at the Assay Office which he has adopted, in each parcel of goods
sent to be assayed. The Higher Standards for Gold are 22 and
18 karats of pure metal in every ounce, the ounce containing 24
karats : so that in each ounce there may be 2 or 6 karats (one -twelfth
or a quarter of the weight of alloy. The coinage of England is
of the higher standard, 22 karats. The lower standard is used for
all manufacturing purposes, except in the case of wedding rings,
which are usually made of 22 karat gold. Since 1854, debased gold
standards of 15, 12, and 9 karats in the ounce of 24 karats have
been legalised. The Standards for Silver are 11 oz. 10 dwts. and
1 1 oz. 2 dwts. of pure metal in every pound troy. The higher standard
is seldom or never used. The silver coinage is of the lower
standard.
It has been seen that in the year 1697 there was an alteration
in the standard of fineness of silver, which was increased from 1 1 oz.
2 dwts. to II oz. 10 dwts. in the pound troy. This better standard
was denoted by a change of stamps as follows: (i) The <strong>marks</strong> of
the workers to be expressed by the two first letters of their surnames.
(2) The mark of the mystery or craft of the goldsmith which instead
of the leopard's head was to be a lion's head erased. (3) Instead
of the lion, the figure of a woman, commonly called Britannia, was
to be substituted; and (4) A distinct variable mark to be used by
the warden of the said mystery to denote the year in which such
plate was made. Both these <strong>marks</strong> were, after 1700, used by the
provincial Assay Offices, but the lion's head erased was omitted on
silver of the new standard at Sheffield and Birmingham.
On referring to the minutes of the Goldsmiths' Company, we
find that, "on the 29th day of May, 1695, new puncheons were received,
the letter for the year being t in an escutcheon." And on
"the 27th March, 1697, the puncheons for the remaining part of
this year (viz., up to the 30th May) were received, being, according
to Act of Parliament, a lyon's head erased, a Britannia, and for the
letter, the great court A in an escutcheon."