The History of Hallmarks in Europe – Part I
In the realm of antique silver, are historical fingerprints that go beyond ornamental impressions.
The purpose of hallmarks on silver goods is to safeguard the purchaser. They ensure that each piece's precious metal content satisfies all applicable legal standards.
However, recognizing early European silver can be a difficult undertaking for jewelry enthusiasts, scholars, and collectors alike.
Silver monteith bowl, 1780, Augsburg, Source Wikimedia Commons, author Silar
Today, the most crucial and essential information for identifying the location and date of production comes from the hallmarks on antique silver items, which are also invaluable tools.
In his book Silver Marks of the World, Jan Divis compiled a brief history of hallmarks that begins with the observer's perception of how the marks are arranged based on the subjects they depict, allowing the reader to navigate the book quickly and easily.
The text accompanying the individual mark drawings informs the reader about the town and country where the hallmark was used, the date it was used, and, whenever possible, the purity guaranteed by the mark.
The arrangement of the marks follows this pattern: alphabetical letters (1–669), numerals (670–695), human figures (696–887), mammals (888–1140), birds (1141–1302), other animals (1303–1359), plants (1360–1482), heavy bodies (1483–1517), architecture (1518–1591), objects (1592–1816), and emblems (1817–1994).
Whether these were state entities, guilds, or towns, the most trustworthy source of information about the goods’ age and place of origin is the markings imprinted by regulatory bodies.
Different nations and states around the world had different origins and histories of marking. According to Divis, this is clarified in the following concise summary of marking and hallmark laws provided by the nations and governments whose trademarks are featured in this book and whose silver goods deserve recognition.
A goldsmith was anyone who worked with precious metals, and in most nations, not even official decrees made a distinction between a goldsmith and a silversmith. This is important to keep in mind if a goldsmith's name appears in the book.
The primary focus of Divis’s book is on historical hallmarks because it is intended to be especially useful to those who appreciate antique silver. Because of this, the 1930s — the period between the two World Wars — represents the most recent date included in the selection of marks.
Hallmark for gold, Source: Chatsam via Wikimedia Commons
Let’s hit the road and explore how the history of European hallmarks was written. Therefore, we will review a series of events that took place in European countries and paved the way for the use of hallmarks.
Austria
Legislation pertaining to the assaying of precious metals was passed in 1366 by the Austrian princes Albrecht and Leopold. Two guild masters were appointed to test purity under the watchful eye of the mint master.
In 1659, work in 14-lot silver was permitted by Emperor Leopold I's patent.
Purity levels of 13 and 14 lots (known as the Augsburger and Wiener Probe) were permitted by Emperor Joseph I's patent in 1708.
Emperor Charles VI's patent in 1737 established a purity threshold of 15 lots.
1774: An Empress Maria Theresa patent first displayed the trademarks that had to be used.
1784: In this year, the Austrian government began regulating purity, but only in Vienna.
In Galicia, purity was regulated by the state in 1786.
In 1806, the Austro-Hungarian Empire adopted a single state marking system, excluding Hungary, Slovakia (which was under Hungarian sovereignty), and Transylvania.
1866: On August 1, new purity indications and hallmarks for silver, measured in thousandths instead of the previous lot system, entered into force. Today, Hungary also uses these standards. Purity values of 950, 900, 800, and 750/1000 were all acceptable.
1872: By modifying the marks currently in use, the letter indicating the location of the assay office was integrated into the purity mark. These marks remained in use until 1921, 1922, 1919, and 1937 in the Austrian Republic, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, and part of Poland.
1921: The hallmarks of the new Austrian Republic were established by the law of October 21.
Belgium
According to Divis, the use of date letters was clearly influenced by a decree issued by Maximilian in 1484 for his holdings in Flanders.
In his capacity as governor of the Netherlands, Archduke Philip the Handsome established rules for goldsmiths in Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland in 1501; on February 2, 1502, he published regulations for Antwerp and most likely for other places as well.
Emperor Charles V issued goldsmiths' regulations for the Netherlands in Brussels in 1551. These regulations covered the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and a portion of northern France (Artois).
The Netherlands joined the Spanish line of the Habsburgs in 1556. The existing hallmarking system remained in use.
In 1612, Governor Albrecht issued an order mandating the addition of a new hallmark to the town mark already in use.
Silver hallmarks on a piece struck between 1750 and 1763 in Mons, Belgium, Source Wikimedia Commons, Author Tournachon
France took control of the Austrian Netherlands in 1797. The French rulings of 1797 (19th Brumaire, Year VI) then became enforceable.
Although Belgium was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815 to 1830, its territory was marked differently from the Netherlands.
1831: After the Kingdom of Belgium was established, a new hallmarking regulation based on the French model was issued. Hallmarking became mandatory.
The law of June 5, 1868, entered into force in 1869, allowing any level of purity and eliminating mandatory state regulation. Items with a purity of 800 and 900/1000, however, could still be tagged and submitted for assaying, as Divis mentioned in his book.
Both the assayers' personal marks and state purity symbols were introduced. The maker's mark was not required. These marks remained in use until January 1, 1942.
Bulgaria
Regarding the hallmarking of precious metal objects in Bulgaria in the past, nothing is known. The Turkish occupation, which lasted from 1393 to 1878 (and until 1881 in the southern part of the country), is clearly to blame for this.
According to Divis, the Turkish occupation, which lasted from 1393 to 1878 (and until 1881 in the southern part of the country), is clearly responsible for this lack of information.
Most likely, the Turkish system was used for hallmarking.
The law of March 1, 1907, entered into force in 1910, and items were stamped with the maker's mark and an official purity mark.
The permitted fineness standards were 500/1000, 950, 900, 850, and 750.
Denmark
In 1445, a royal decree applicable to the entire kingdom mandated that all items bear both a maker's mark and a town hallmark.
Danish laws remained largely applicable to Sweden until 1523.
Christian IV issued a decree in 1685 for Copenhagen, which served as a model for other cities in the kingdom and larger towns in Norway. It introduced fundamental modifications to the marking system, requiring that any object weighing more than five lots be submitted for assay to the master of the mint.
Christian IV of Denmark, Source https://www.kongernessamling.dk/rosenborg/object/christian-4-ca-1612, via Wikimedia Commons
According to Divis, the master then applied his own mark, the town symbol, and the month's stamp to it.
From that point on, four marks were applied to an item: the town mark (København), the assayer's mark (Master C. Ludolf), the month mark (April), and the maker's mark.
1814: Up to this year, Norway was also subject to Danish legislation.
The law of April 5, 1888, entered into force in 1893. Items were then required to bear the following: 1. the producer's mark; 2. the letter "S" indicating purity; and 3. an official mark with the date.
Also, 826/1000 was the minimum permitted purity level.
England
The earliest mention of guilds for English goldsmiths dates back to the 12th century.
Henry II established a guild of goldsmiths in 1180, granting them the authority to use the leopard's head as their trademark.
Examples of British hallmarks for 925 silver, Source: Wikimedia Commons
Henry III introduced a silver purity assay in 1238 in order to prevent fraud.
Edward I reigned from 1300 to 1544. During this period, the hallmark featuring the leopard's head signified the sterling standard of purity at 11 oz 2 dwt (= 925/1000), matching the purity of the currency established during Henry II's reign (1154–1189).
In 1336, the Goldsmiths Guild established hallmarking regulations and added three new marks: the date letter, the maker's mark, and the leopard's head.
The leopard's head, the London hallmark of the 18th century, was also used by Exeter and York.
Initially, maker's marks consisted of symbols. Later, in the 17th century, they consisted of letters — usually the initials of the maker's first and last name or the surnames of a partnership — either alone or accompanied by a symbol, a crown or coronet being a popular choice, according to Divis.
However, under the Britannia Standard (1697–1720), the first two letters of the maker's last name had to be included in the mark.
The age of the piece is indicated by the date letter for London, which changed annually in May. Once the alphabet was exhausted (20 letters from A to U, excluding J), the shape of both the letter and the shield was altered. Every other town possessing an assay office used a different system.
In 1423, the "mark of origin" was introduced. Each office had its own distinctive mark; London, for example, used the leopard's head.
Although the later evolution of English hallmarking may appear rather complex, the entire subject can be understood by using the London marking system as an example (the specimen marks are based on M. Rosenberg).
According to Divis, before 1544, silver goods were stamped with three marks: a maker's mark, a date letter, and a leopard's head.
The "lion passant" was adopted as a fourth mark in 1544. It was modeled after the royal symbol and indicated sterling purity at 11 oz 2 dwt (925/1000). It was also used in other English towns as a symbol of sterling purity. Until 1821, the lion was depicted facing forward; afterward, it appeared in profile.
Paul Storr hallmarks, left to right: makers mark, lion passant (sterling silver), London town mark, date letter (1835), duty mark (William IV), Source Paul Storr Hallmark.jpg via Wikimedia Commons, Author Rauantiques
Between 1697 and 1720, the required purity was 11 oz 10 dwt (= 958.3/1000), and it had to include the following characteristics: a) a lion's head erased, and b) a representation of Britannia, replacing marks 1 and 4 (the lion passant and the leopard's head).
Britannia standard products were stamped with four marks: 1. figure of Britannia; 2. lion's head erased; 3. date letter; 4. maker's mark.
An Act passed in 1719 allowed silversmiths to return to the ordinary Sterling standard on June 1, 1720, because silver of the "Britannia" standard was found to be too soft for everyday use. As a result, both hallmark series were used side by side from that point onward.
A duty mark certifying payment of a tax for the purity test was first introduced in 1784 in England and Scotland (but not in Ireland). It remained in use until 1890 and displayed the head of the reigning monarch, Divis wrote.
Beginning in 1784, every piece of silver therefore bore five marks: a leopard's head, a date letter, a lion passant, a duty mark, and a maker's mark.
After the duty mark was abolished in 1890, four marks once again remained in use:
- for lower purity: 1. leopard's head; 2. date letter; 3. lion passant; 4. maker's mark
- for higher purity: 1. date letter; 2. Britannia; 3. lion's head erased; 4. maker's mark.
