Hall marks on gold & silver plate

144
HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
ished, but the duty of 17s. per ounce on gold was retained, and
marked as before with the stamp of the sovereign's head to denote
payment thereof. For particulars of the abolition of the duty on
silver the reader is referred to page 1 1 5 ante.
The fashion for large and heavy masses of plate has entirely
gone out since the commencement of this century, such as dinner
has not de-
services, etc., although the number of plate-workers
creased, the articles manufactured being usually of comparatively
small character. The introduction of electro-plating has had considerable
influence in diminishing the employment of silver in plate.
Mr. Prideaux, Secretary of the Goldsmiths' Company, in his examination
before the Committee on the Gold and Silver <strong>Hall</strong>-Marking,
in the year 1878, handed in the following return of the duty on
manufactured plate at Goldsmiths' <strong>Hall</strong> for seven decennial periods
from 1808 to 1878.
He stated that it proved that the falling-off of the trade was
greatly attributable to the use of electro-plate, which was introduced
about 1843 or 1845, and got in full swing about 1848, when it will
be observed that the duty on silver had decreased from ^^72 1,949
sterling in 1828 down to ;^487,633 in 1858, still dropping down to
the present time.
AMOUNT OF DUTY RECEIVED AT GOLDSMITHS' HALL, LONDON,
FROM APRIL 1, 1808, TO MARCH 31, 1878.