3. DUTY MARKS
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In 1784 the duty mark was created to show that a tax on the item had been paid to the crown. The mark used was a profile portrait of
the current reigning monarch's head. The use of this mark was abolished in 1890.
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- 1. 1785 (began 12/1/1784)
- 2. 1786 - 1821
- 3. 1822 - 1833
- 4. 1834 - 1837
- 5. 1838 - 1890
The first two marks are not duty marks but were used prior to them and dropped when the duty mark came into existence. The crowned leopard (a) was used with Sterling, the lion in profile (b) was used with Britannia.
4. DATE LETTERS
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The date letter system was introduced in London in 1478 (elsewhere as the hallmarking system evolved). Its purpose was to establish when a piece was presented for assay or testing of the silver content. The mark letter changed annually in May, the cycles of date letters were usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was differentiated by a changing of the font, letter case and shield shape.
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5. MAKER'S MARK
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The enforced use of the maker's mark was instituted in London in 1363. Its purpose was to prevent the forgery of leopard’s head marks upon silver of debased content by providing an indication of the party responsible for the piece. Originally, makers' marks were pictograms, but by the beginning of the 17th Century it had become common practice to use the maker's initials.
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6. IMPORT MARKS
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The required use of import marks to be stamped on foreign made silver was instituted in 1867. A letter "F" in an oval cartouche was stamped alongside the regular hallmarks, the maker's mark being that of the British importing firm (sponsor's mark).
Beginning in 1904 and new system was instituted in which each assay office stamped its own symbol as the import mark, this replaced the town mark. The lion passant mark was replaced by a numerical standard mark. Unchanged were the required date letter and sponsor's mark.
Items bearing British Import marks will sometimes have additional marks from the country of origin, sometimes not.
Examples of British Import Marks
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