HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH AND BRITISH SILVER MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION THE DIRECTORY OF ENGLISH, SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS

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A.E.C., Birmingham 1972 hallmark

AEJ A.E. Jones Albert E. Jones (1870-1954) studied at the Central school of Arta and Crafts, Birmingham under Edward Taylor and later worked as a Guildman at the Birmingham Guild of Handicrafts. In 1902 he started his business in Windmill Street and then acquired the firm of Jason and Birkett. and its famous trade mark of St. Dunstan. A.E. Jones died in 1954 and the firm was managed by his wife, Adeline Nellie, until 1958 when his son Kennet Crisp Jones took over the business. Later the firm purchased Townshend Ltd and Lanson Ltd. Birmingham 1940 hallmark

	AEP&CoLtd A E Poston & Co Ltd , Sheffield 1945 hallmark Birmingham 1930 hallmark
	A E S into a trefoil Arthur Elwell Spurrier, The firm is recorded at 35 Coleman Street, London in 1883 and as Spurrier & Co in 1885. Their works were at 14 George Street, Birmingham London 1884 hallmark

London	Birmingham	Dublin	Edinburgh	Sheffield	Chester

The hallmarking of British silver is based on a combination of marks that makes possible the identification of the origin and the age of each piece.
The marks are:

Town mark, corresponding to the mark of the assay office that has verified the piece

Lion's passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased certifiying the silver's quality

Maker's mark, identifying the silversmith presenting the piece to the assay office

Date letter, in cycles of twenty letters of the alphabet of different shape identifies the year in which the piece was verified by the assay office

A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of duty