Hall marks on gold & silver plate

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A.D. 17 19. 6 George I. A duty of sixpence per ounce troy
was imposed on all silver plate which should be imported or made
in Great Britain. Goldsmiths to keep scales and weights.
A.D. 1756. 29 George II. Owners of plate to pay a duty of
5s. annually for 100 ounces; los. for 200 ounces; and so on to be
entered at the Office of Excise.
Plate belonging to the Church, or stock in trade of goldsmiths,
exempt.
A.D. 1757. 31 George II, c. 32. The previous Act was re-
pealed, and in lieu thereof a licence of forty shillings substituted,
to be taken out by every person trading in, selling, or vending gold
or silver plate, and the licence to be renewed annually.
A.D. 1758. 32 George II, c. 14. The licence was increased to
;^5 per annum for every person trading in gold plate of two ounces,
and silver of thirty ounces and upwards. Persons dealing in gold
and silver, of less weight than two pennyweights of gold, or in silver
not exceeding five pennyweights, in one piece of goods, exempted.
A.D. 1784. 24 George III. An Act was passed imposing an
additional duty of eight shillings per ounce on gold plate, and sixpence
per ounce on silver plate. It was also enacted that the wardens
or their assay masters should mark the pieces with a new mark,
viz., the King's head, over and above the several other <strong>marks</strong> directed
by law. The expression, " The King's Head," is understood to mean
the representation of the head of the reigning sovereign.
After the passing of this Act, which came into operation on
December i, 1784, a duty stamp of the King's head incuse was used
for a short period. We find it in conjunction with the letter i of
1784, and also with the letter k of 1785. There were several pieces
of plate in the late Dr. and Mrs. Ashford's possession of the latter
year, k and head incuse, viz., a cake-basket, pepper-box, and some
spoons.
The Duty Act of 1784 (24 Geo. Ill, c. 53) directs that all gold
and silver plate intended for exportation shall be stamped at the
Assay Office, when the drawback is allowed, with a punch of the
figure of Britannia; and to distinguish it from the similar mark
used for the new standard, it was stamped incuse. It was of short
duration, for the manufacturers objecting to the number of stamps
and consequent disfigurement of the plate, that part of the Act re-
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