Help reading a worn-out hallmark on a gold cross

[pj2015]

Hi,

I've been trying to identify this gold cross which is a recently recovered family heirloom, anecdotally going back into Australian mid C19th (great-great-grandmother!).

I can see the Birmingham anchor, and clearly the "P. Bros" maker mark which appears similar to the Purcell Bros. although they have an swept angle/pointy sides in the images I've found so far, and apparently were only making during the 1930-40s which doesn't fit our story. This site lists them, producing silver flatware http://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Make ... ham-P.html which again isn't quite right...

I think I can see a serif 'a' date mark, although it appears at the wrong end of the normal sequence? If it is an 'a' date, this could be 1900, 1875 (but it's not in a circle), or 1798 which seems unlikely! The bottom is worn away which makes it hard to see the rectangle shape.

The middle section is very worn, and I am struggling to make anything out.

I've taken such a lot of pictures as the angle of the light shows up different aspects.















The cross is attached to a gold wedding ring by a small gold octagonal ring, (which seems carefully welded/soldered and seems like it was made to wear rather than just fixing it together for storage). The two items are supposed to be related so should share similar dates.

From my limited knowledge I can see a typical sequence, with SH as the maker mark. 9-375 i.e. 9 carats, the Birmingham anchor, then a serif U date mark, and an O or two crescents.

Looking at the 'U' date, I am confused, as it would appear to be the 'U' from 1869 if they hadn't changed to a circle at the S in 1867. None of the other U's make sense - especially if what I've read is true that the rest of the hallmarks take the outer shape of the date mark - which is clearly a chamfered rectangle.

Finally I've not been able to find the meaning of the split [O] or facing crescents - which seems separate and is in a different rectangle so perhaps applied later. I guess it could be an additional duty/import mark of some kind, but none I've seen on various websites.










This is the first time I've tried to decipher any hallmarks so apologies if I've got any of this wrong.
Would appreciate any help with identifying these.

thanks.

[dognose]

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

Just to get the ball rolling, the wedding ring carries the mark of Samuel Hope, it was assayed at Birmingham in 1944.


Samuel Hope - Birmingham - 1932

The answer to the other mark is here: http://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic ... 95&p=57567

Please remember to keep your images to within the 7" (18cm) width limit.

Trev.

[pj2015]

Thanks for the quick really Trev.

Can you explain to a layman why the date mark doesn't have the bottom edge shield style curves of that series?

I did wonder about the 1944 U but was swayed by the oral history and the shapes in this reference https://theassayoffice.co.uk/help-with- ... e-letters2 and others.

[dognose]

The cartouches differ for gold and silver, gold was square with clipped corners. The date letters shown on that website are those for silver.

Trev.

[pj2015]

Ah I see, yes it clearly says that above which make total sense now.

"The same letters were used for Gold, which has been marked in Birmingham since 1824, but with a background of a square with cut corners. There may be some variations in backgrounds during the late 19th century, especially on watch cases."

Thanks for providing the original advert for th ring that's fascinating to see!

Hoping someone out there can decipher the cross.