Hall marks on gold & silver plate

358
HALL MARKS ON PLATE.
The maker's <strong>marks</strong> were in use, and were also registered, at the
time of the passing of this Act and for many years previously, in
accordance with other Acts of Parliament and the practice of the
London <strong>Hall</strong>. The manufacturers were required to stamp and
register their mark punches in the Assay Office in Dublin, previous
to the year 1694, and this practice has been continued to the present
time.
These three standards of 22, 2c and 18 karats, directed by this
Act, were continued by another Act, subsequently passed, namely,
the 47 Geo. Ill, sess. 2, c. 15, s. 3, August 10, 1807, and are still
in use.
By the same Act, c. 23, s. 29 (Ireland), no refiner may sell gold
without alloy, or less fine than with one grain per ounce.
KING'S HEAD DUTY-MARK. DUTY INCREASED.
A.D. 1807. 47 George III, sess. 2, c. 15, s. 3 (Ireland). The
<strong>marks</strong> for silver in Ireland, do not seem to be determined by the
Statute, but were those which were in use in 1807, or as settled by
the Commissioners of Taxes.
By Section 6 of this Act, the stamp of the King's head, or head
of the reigning sovereign, was now for the first time added to the
others to denote payment of the duty, but no notice was taken of
the former mark of Hibernia, and both <strong>marks</strong> were used. The duty
v;as raised to one shilling per ounce oh gold and silver plate. (The
duty on silver plate abolished 1890.)
By the same Act, sect. 15, both buyer and seller are liable to a
penalty for plate without the required <strong>marks</strong>.
STANDARD OF SILVER IMPROVED.
A.D. 1825. 6 George IV, c. 118. A small Roman letter e is
found for the date towards the end of this year, succeeding the
capital letter E. This was done in compliance with the order of the
Commissioners of Stamps, to denote the transfer of the duty from
the Commissioners and Collectors of Excise to the Commissioners of
Stamps; and also to mark the change of the standard of silver made
in Ireland at that time, by having to adopt the practice
of the
London <strong>Hall</strong> in marking silver plate, at an allowance of only one
pennyweight and a half below the standard this was also by brder
of the Commissioners of Stamps, and according to the 47 Geo. Ill,
sess. 2, c. 15. Previous to this order, Irish manufactured silver plate
used to be marked in Dublin, at some periods, as standard, at an
allowance of from two and a half to three and a half pennyweight
worse than the standard; consequently Irish sterling, manufactured
previous to that date, was inferior to English sterling, and to the
Irish sterling subsequently manufactured.