HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH AND BRITISH SILVER
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION

THE DIRECTORY OF ENGLISH, SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS

  created by Giorgio B. owner of
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This is a page of A Small Collection of Antique Silver and Objects of vertu, a 1000 pages richly illustrated website offering all you need to know about antique silver, sterling silver, silverplate, sheffield plate, electroplate silver, silverware, flatware, tea services and tea complements, marks and hallmarks, articles, books, auction catalogs, famous silversmiths (Tiffany, Gorham, Jensen, Elkington, WMF, Reed & Barton, Mappin & Webb, Bateman Family), history, oddities ...
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BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - ILLUSTRATED LISTING OF MAKER'S AND SPONSOR'S MARKS: BG
(click on the photo to enlarge image)
B.G into an oval mark, Bert Gordon, Birmingham 1974
B.G into an oval
Bert Gordon
Birmingham 1974 hallmark
B.G.& Co into an oval  mark, Britton, Gould &; Co , Birmingham 1938
B.G.&Co into an oval
Britton, Gould & Co
Birmingham 1938 hallmark
BG over &a over C0 Ld into a quatrefoil mark, Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd, Birmingham 1902 BG over &a over C0 Ld into a quatrefoil mark, Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd, Birmingham 1902 BG over &a over C0 Ld into a quatrefoil mark, Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd, Sheffield 1901
BG over & over Co Ld into a quatrefoil
Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd
Boardman, Glossop & Co whose last partners were William P. and Frederick P. Davis was converted in 1895 in a limited liability company under the style Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd. The firm was active at Clarence Works, Pond Street, Sheffield and in London. A new company Boardman, Glossop & Co Ltd was registered in 1908............
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Birmingham 1902 hallmark
Sheffield 1901 hallmark
courtesy www.acsilver.co.uk
B over GH over Ld into a lozenge mark, Birmingham Guild of Handicraft, Birmingham 1904
B over GH over Ld into a lozenge
Birmingham Guild of Handicraft Ltd
Birmingham 1904 hallmark
courtesy www.acsilver.co.uk
STERLING SILVER OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF
BRITISH MAKER'S MARKS
AA
AE
AF
AZ
BA
BZ
CA
CH
CK
CZ
DA
DZ
EA
EZ
FA
FZ
GA
GZ
HA
HG
HH
HZ
IA
IG
IH
IZ
JA
JC
JD
JH
JJ
JP
JQ
JS
ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF
BRITISH MAKER'S MARKS
JT
JZ
KA
LZ
MA
MZ
NA
PA
PB
PZ
QA
RH
RK
RZ
SA
SG
SH
SZ
TA
TH
TI
TZ
UA
WB
WC
WF
WG
WL
WM
WS
WT
ZZ
ALPHABETICAL LISTING
OF SILVERSMITHS' NAMES
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
   
THE DIRECTORY OF SCOTTISH PROVINCIAL SILVER
ABERDEEN   ARBROATH    BALLATER    BANFF    CANONGATE    CUPAR    DUMFRIES    DUNDEE    ELGIN    ELLON    FOCHABERS    FORRES    GREENOCK    INVERNESS    MONTROSE    OBAN    PAISLEY    PERTH    PETERHEAD    TAIN    WICK
THE DIRECTORY OF CAPE SILVERSMITHS A - C D - I J - M N - T U - Z
THE DIRECTORY OF CHANNEL ISLANDS SILVERSMITHS A - F G - H I - P Q - Z unidentified makers
CANADA SILVERSMITHS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
AUSTRALIAN SILVERSMITHS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z NOT IDENTIFIED

BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS

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
London town mark Sheffield town mark Birmingham town mark Newcastle town mark Dublin town mark Edimburgh town mark Glasgow town mark

Lion's passant guardant or Britannia or lion's head erased certifiying the silver's quality
lion passant: 1598-1820 lion passant: after 1820 Britannia and lion's head erased: from 1697 to 1718
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
London date letter 'a'
A further mark was used in the period 1784 - 1890:
Sovereign head ('duty mark'), certifying the payment of duty
Sovereign head: duty mark from 1784 to 1890
work in progress on this page - your help, corrections and suggestions will be greatly appreciated -