Louis XIV died in 1715. His great-grandson Louis, born in 1710, was first in the line of succession as the King of France. After a regency of eight years, and at the age of 13, which was considered a majority for kings, Louis XV actually took over the charge of the French kingdom in 1723. Louis XV contributed to enlarge French borders (Lorraine and Corsica) but his external policy was a real disaster (loss of Canada, departure from Indian territories). It is common to consider that Louis XV was an "absolute monarch" who, in many ways, should be held responsible for "preparing" an event that Louis XVI could not prevent later: the Revolution. He died in 1774.

Silver items were stamped with four marks

MAKER'S MARK: was the first mark to be struck, when the item was still a rough sketch. Consequently, as in many cases the mark suffered damages in the manufacturing process, the silversmith was allowed to strike his mark twice (see an example on the right). The maker's mark was stamped together with the Charge mark

Two stamps were used for tax issues:
CHARGE MARK: was struck at the early beginning of the sketch. This mark meant that the piece had been declared to the tax authorities. Hence, this mark should be found side by side with the maker's mark. Its size was large, similar to the maker's mark.
DISCHARGE MARK: was struck when tax was paid. Its size was roughly half as large as that of the Charge mark.

WARRANTY MARK (JURANDE): this mark certified the silver content (958/1000 in Paris). Silver fineness was a highly serious matter and makers may be sentenced to death for faking the silver content. The mark was an "alphabetic letter under an open crown", changed yearly, This allowed one to determine the precise year of the sale. All the letters were used, except "J" and "W". Furthermore, the "U" wasn't used under the Louis XV reign. (on the right: warranty mark "F" identifying year 1769)

			Other marks: (1) a hand (2) "Holy Spirit" (flying bird with the head down)
charge mark: large and medium items	discharge mark: dishes and plates only	discharge mark: medium items	(1) charge mark: golden items (2) discharge mark: small items

			Other marks: (1) crowned dolphin head (2) crowned chancellor mass
charge mark: large and medium items	discharge mark: plates and assembled items only	discharge mark: medium items (crowned goose)	(1) charge mark: golden items (2) discharge mark: small items

charge mark: all items	charge mark: gold items	discharge mark: large and medium items	discharge mark: small silver and gold items

From October 1738 the system based on large/small silver and golden objects marks maintained the same principles until the 1789 Revolution

Each silversmith had his own registered mark. Every Master usually associated his initials with a symbol in-between.
In Paris, the mark was compulsorily headed by a crowned fleur-de-lys, with a pellet at each side ("grain", used to indicate the silver content tolerance).
This procedure was implemented in the 14th century and lasted up to the Revolution. Unfortunately, this way of organizing the mark stamping was not reserved only to Paris; other places in France were allowed to use a similar device (in Brittany and in many other towns like Tours, La Rochelle, Poitiers, etc.), so that the attribution to Paris of marks with this heading is often of uncertain outcome.
Below some examples of marks of Paris silversmiths are presented:

Rémi CHATRIA Registered 1724 Symbol: Holy spirit	Pierre CLEMENT Registered 1694 Symbol: two crossed keys	Simon BOURGUET Registered 1740 Symbol: a tower	Antoine BOURGEOIS Registered 1708 Symbol: a sun	Philippe BOURLIER Registered 1769 Symbol: May green tree

Jacques ANTHIAUME Registered 1758 Symbol: a shell	Claude Auguste AUBRY Registered 1758 Symbol: a bishop's crosier	Pierre François GOGLY Registered 1768 Symbol: a fly	François Martin MICHELIN Registered 1758 Symbol: a star

NOTE: Silversmith's initials are usually in bold letters. Initials represented in thin letters are highly suspicious.
Unfortunately, rubbed stamps are common on French silverware because stamping dies were rather soft and (to remember) the maker's mark often suffered damages during the finishing of the silver article.

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