Hall marks on gold & silver plate

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HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
BIRMINGHAM.
It appears that previous to the middle of the eighteenth century,
the silversmiths of Birmingham were in the habit of sending their
wares to London and Chester to be assayed. This method of deal-
ing with articles for assay, proving very unsatisfactory, the Birmingham
plateworkers in February, 1773, presented a petition to the
House of Commons, for leave to bring in a Bill to establish an As-
say Office at Birmingham. A similar petition was also presented by
the silversmiths of Sheffield, at the same time. The result of the
petitions was that, during the same year, the Statute of 13 George
III, cap. 52, was passed.
This Act commences :
" Whereas the Silver /miths and Plate-workers in and about the
Town of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, and in and about
the Town of Sheffield, in the County of Y ork, are under great Difficulties
and Hard /hips in the Exerci/e of their Trades, for want of
A//ayers in convenient Places to a//ay and touch their Wrought
Plate."
Therefore this Act was passed for the appointment of Wardens
and Assay Masters for assaying and stamping wrought silver plate,
in the Towns of Birmingham and Sheffield; and for appointing for
each of these Towns a number of Noblemen, Gentlemen and workers,
to be known by the names of "The Guardians of the Standard of
Wrought Plate," within such towns. The Act provides that silver
goods "/hall be marked as followeth; that is to /ay, with the mark
of the Worker or Maker thereof, which shall be the Fir/t Letters of
his Chri/tian and Surname; and al/o with the Lion Pa//ant, and
with the Mark of the Company within who/e A//ay Office /uch
Plate /hall be a//ayed and marked, to denote the goodne/s thereof,
and the Place where the /ame was a//ayed and marked ;
with a di/tinct variable Mark or Letter ;
and al/o
which Letter or Mark /hall
be annually changed upon the Election of new Wardens of each
Company, to denote the Year in which /uch Plate is marked." And it
was further enacted " That the peculiar Marks of the /aid Companies,
directed to be u/ed as above/aid, /hall be as follows that is
;
to /ay, for the Birmingham Company, an Anchor; and for the
Sheffield Company, a Crown." The Chief Officer of the Company is
known as the Assay Master and is responsible to two authorities;
first to the Guardians of the Company, by whom he is appointed;
and secondly to the Master of His Majesty's Mint, before whom he
is bound, with two sureties, under the penalty of five hundred
pounds for the faithful execution of his office, and for the payment
of any fines inflicted on him for negligence or fraud, and also for appearing
at the Mint annually and verifying his proceeding and diet
box. This verification does not apply to the Assay Offices of Chester,
Edinburgh, Glasgow or Dublin. The Act assigns to the Guar-
dians the duty of providing a suitable place for assaying and
stamping the silver ware; of appointing an able and skilful person