Silver hallmarks are stamped marking impressed on Silvercrafts to indicate the fineness of various silver items. Hallmarking was basically instituted to protect the interest of the consumers who are attracted to the luster of silver and to prevent false claims of silversmiths regarding the metallurgical standards of their products. Basically, silver hallmarking is the standardization of the quality of silver crafts.
Hallmarking was legally established in England in 1300 under the reign of King Edward I. He ordered that all gold and silver items must undergo a test called an “assay” that would certify its fineness. His decree stated that all silver crafts must be made from .925 silver or “sterling silver” at least.
These tests were conducted by governing bodies of craftsmen and silversmiths called guilds. During the reign of King Edward III, he granted a charter to the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths (aka Goldsmith Company). This guild of goldsmiths had a guild hall in London called Goldsmith’s Hall where they engraved the markings on the assayed items. From this process, where the guilds stamped the mark of quality within their guild hall, the term hallmark was coined.
Other countries followed England’s practice in standardizing the fineness of their silver products. These other countries now have their own Assay Offices. This practice was good in terms of protecting the interests of the consumers, but on each Assay Office on different countries and sometimes on different cities of countries, they would have their own marks or styles of marking which sometimes cause confusion as to the interpretation of the hallmarks that state the purity of silver in a particular item.
To address this dilemma, an international convention, called the Hallmark Convention was held and through this convention, an international mark known as the Common Control Mark (CCM) was agreed to be the international mark used by Assay Offices to determine silver purity on silver crafts.
During the time of Edward the I, Silver items were hallmarked only to determine the fineness of the silver but today, more marks are stamped. Each symbol impressed on the items indicate important information like: The Assay Office where the item was hall marked, the Fineness of the metal, the Maker of the item, the CCM, and sometimes, depending on the maker’s prerogative, the date of the assaying as well. All these marks may be helpful for you in determining the true value of the silver craft you are eyeing.
To illustrate the hallmarks that are being used for silver crafts, look at the table below. Each symbol corresponds to a certain information that would be beneficial for you.