HALLMARKS OF ENGLISH SILVER
MAKER'S MARK IDENTIFICATION

WITH THE ADDITION OF SCOTTISH, IRISH, CHANNEL ISLANDS AND COLONIES SILVERMITHS
  created by Giorgio B. owner of
www.silvercollection.it © English home page
 home page in Italiano page d'accueil en francais
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 ...
SITE MAP - HOME PAGE
BRITISH SILVERSMITHS - ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF MARKS: WM - WM
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.M mark,William Moulson, London 1841
W.M
William Moulson
London 1841 hallmark
a subsidiary of Lambert & Rawlings. First partners were John Wrangham and William Moulson joined in 1823 by Paul Siddall.
WM under a crown into a trefoil mark, William Mortimer or William Marshall & Son, Edimburgh 1849
WM under a crown into a trefoil
William Mortimer or William Marshall & Son
Edimburgh 1849 hallmark
WM and English pseudo-hallmarks mark, William Moore , Cape Colony 1840 c.
WM and English pseudo-hallmarks
William Moore,
a Cape of Good Hope Colony silversmith. Active 1840-1863. Registered as Goldsmith and Jeweller (1841-1842) and silversmith (1842-1863)
Cape Colony 1840 c. hallmark
WM into a ondulating sides rectangular outline mark, William Manton known as Birmingham Gold & Silversmiths Ltd, Birmingham 1996
WM into a ondulating sides rectangular outline
William Manton known as Birmingham Gold & Silversmiths Ltd
Birmingham 1996 hallmark
W.M mark, William Mann , London 1859
W.M
William Mann
London 1859 hallmark
WMCo into three circles mark, Wilmott Manufacturing Co, Birmingham 1936
W M Co into three circles
Wilmott Manufacturing Co
Birmingham 1936 hallmark
Formed in 1912 upon the amalgamation of Wilmot Brothers (York Works, Birmingham) and Norton & White and Walsam & Co (Camden Street, Birmingham). From 1920 the firm had showrooms at 40 High Holborn, London and Paris.
W.M.Co into three circles mark, Wilmott Manufacturing Co, Birmingham 1920
W.M.Co into three circles
Wilmott Manufacturing Co
Birmingham 1920 hallmark
W.M.D mark, William A Duncan, Glasgow 1943
W.M.D
William A Duncan
Glasgow 1943 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
work in progress on this page - your help, corrections and suggestions will be greatly appreciated -