HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION

WITH THE ADDITION OF SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS
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BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF MARKS: WF - WG
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
(click on the photo to enlarge image)
W.F into a rectangle mark, William Fearn, London 1771
W.F into a rectangle
William Fearn
Apprenticed to Thomas Chawner in 1762. Mark entered in 1769
London 1771 hallmark
W.F over A.F mark, Fordham & Faulkner, Sheffield 1913
W.F over A.F
Fordham & Faulkner,
Orchard Works, Orchard Lane, Sheffield. Mark entered in 1896
Sheffield 1913 hallmark
WG mark, William Garrard, London 1743
WG
William Garrard
entered 1739
London 1743 hallmark
WG mark, William Gwillim , London 1741
WG
William Gwillim
London 1741 hallmark
W.G over J.L mark, Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co: William Gibson & John Lawrence Langman, Sheffield 1892 W.G over J.L mark, Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co: William Gibson & John Lawrence Langman, London 1886
W.G over J.L
Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co: William Gibson & John Lawrence Langman
Sheffield 1892 hallmark


London 1886 hallmark
WG&S into a shield mark, William Gallimore & Sons, Sheffield 1905
WG&S into a shield
William Gallimore & Sons
Sheffield 1905 hallmark
WG&S mark, William Greenwood & Sons, Birmingham 1927
WG&S
William Greenwood & Sons
Birmingham 1927 hallmark
WGL into an oval mark, Willem Godfried Lotter , Cape Colony 1820 c.
WGL into an oval
Willem Godfried Lotter,
a Cape of Good Hope Colony silversmith
Cape Colony 1820 c. hallmark
W.G.S&Co mark, W G Sothers & Co, Birmingham 1912
W.G.S&Co
W G Sothers & Co
Birmingham 1912 hallmark
HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER - MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION
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
CAPE SILVERSMITHS A - C D - I J - M N - T U - Z
CHANNEL ISLANDS SILVERSMITHS A - F G - H I - P Q - Z unidentified
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
BRITISH TOWN MARKS AND DATE LETTERS
London town marks Birmingham town marks Dublin town marks Edinburgh town marks Sheffield town marks Exeter town marks
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
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
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