What are the 5 standard silver marks?

What are the different markings for silver?

What are the markings for sterling silver?

In the United States, sterling silver is classified as containing 92.5% or more silver, which is why you might see “sterling” or “925” stamped at the bottom of an authentic sterling silver piece. That's the key identifier that a piece is sterling silver.

What are the hallmark numbers for silver?

"The words ”silver" and ”sterling silver" describe a product that contains 92.5% pure silver. Silver products sometimes may be marked 925, which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver.

What are the markings for solid silver?

International sellers of silver will stamp silver as 925, 900 or 800." These numbers indicate the level of purity of the silver. Sterling silver has a purity of 92.5 percent or higher.

Silver hallmarks - a guide for beginners

What does 3 crowns mean on silver?

Salad sets in this style are most often silver plate. If the salad set bears a three crown mark that looks like this then it is solid silver of at least 830 fineness.

How do you identify hallmarks?

The four components of a hallmark are: the sponsor or maker's mark, the standard mark, the assay office mark and the date letter for the year. Hallmark identification should answer four important questions - where; what; when; who. Where? Locate the assay office.

What is the symbol for silver plated?

These pieces will often be marked with “EP” or “SP” or “P”(for electroplate, silver plate, plated respectively).

What is the stamp for silver plated?

You should see one of the following markings or something similar: "9.25," "925/1000," "Sterling," "S/S" or "Sterling 9.25." If you do not see any of these markings, it's highly unlikely the item is genuine silver. If you do not see the sterling marking, the item is probably silver plated.

What does C mean on silver?

By 1830 the words COIN, PURE COIN, DOLLAR, STANDARD, PREMIUM, or the letters “C” or “D” were placed on silver to indicate that it was 900 out of 1000 parts silver. The word STERLING was frequently used by 1860. STERLING means that 925 out of 1000 parts are silver. This is still the standard for sterling silver.

Does silver always have a hallmark?

If your item contains a sterling silver quality mark, it must also contain the maker's hallmark. In the US, it is not required to stamp precious metals with quality marks, but if you do have a quality mark, there MUST be a maker's hallmark alongside it..

How do you read the silver symbol?

The first symbol you may find is 800, which is a number only used for silver and indicates that 800 parts in every 1000 are silver, or in other words, the silver is 80% pure. Moving up in fineness, the next symbol you will find is 925. This number indicates the metal is silver and that it is 92.5% pure.

How do you identify silverware markings?

The standard mark identifies your item as being silver. The mark for sterling silver is the lion passant or the lion passant guardant. Both look like a lion in profile. On earlier pieces of silver the lion is looking toward you, and this is a lion passant guardant.

What is the symbol for silver on jewelry?

Sterling silver (925): This is the standard for silver, identifying a silver item that is at least 92.5% silver mixed with copper to give it strength. Marks on these pieces include 925 or Sterling.

What does F mean on silver?

In 1867 the Foreign Mark was introduced adding an "F" to the appropriate British hallmark. Foreign mark on London 1880 hallmark, importer Gustave Guilaudet. In 1904 an Act of the Order of Council ordered that foreign silver had to be marked with the decimal value: . 925 for Sterling Standard and .

What does EV mean on silver?

The hallmark for Viners Ltd. silver was registered to son Edward Viner in 1932 it was "E.V" with figures and in 1964, it was "EV" with associated figures.

What does BP mean on silver?

Benjamin Preston. mark entered 16 September 1825 - died 1887.

What does G mean on silver?

Finally, don't let a flea market seller tell you that a piece marked G. Silver is the same as sterling (it's happened more than once). G. Silver or German Silver, has no silver content, although the piece can be highly collectable anyway.

What does WH mean on silver?

WH into a rectangle. William Hall (possibly)

What does JG mean on silver?

John Gilbert - John Gilbert & Co.

What does EP with a crown mean on silver?

a generic mark for Electro Plated, often used together with a "crown"

What does A1 mean on silver?

British electroplaters used a letter code for their "Plated" wares. The best quality was "A1" or "AI", lower level was "A", next level was "B", followed by level "C", and the lowest level was "D". A1 (or AI)= Superior Quality = 32 grams on 12 pieces = 2 2/3 grams per table spoon or table fork.

What hallmark is a crown?

The next mark we see is a Crown or Gold Standard Mark. This was first introduced in 1798 and can now been seen on all UK hallmarked gold that's 9, 14 18 and 22ct. The crown also appears on old 12 and 15 carat gold, however this was stopped in 1932. We now come to the mark that tells us the gold fineness (purity).