Locket Birmingham I think

[mountaindew171]

I recently aquired this locket and was quite taken with it even though I know nothing about jewelry. My mother clued me in about hallmarks and I found this site. I hope you can put up with a newbies igorance, I am trying.

There are four marks on the back, the first one is unclear to me. The second is a "g" the third a sideways anchor and the fourth I believe is a lion. from what I've seen on the site the anchor and lion would signafy Birmingham? Although the anchor shown on the site is up and down while mine is sideways, does that make a difference? If it is indeed Birmingham then the "g" looks like the one that represents 1881.

The first mark, the one I can't make out would be the makers mark right? Do the marks always fall in the same order? Meaning the makers mark would be first, then the year, then the location? I really want to learn more about this, I find it facinating! Here are a couple pics, maybe someone more adept at photoshop can clear them up a bit and enlarge them to be able to read that mark? I tried but when I enlarge it anymore it just blurs it.





Thanks for any help anyone can give me.

[Waylander]

Hi there

The photo is a bit unclear but a lower case "g", combined with an absence of a duty mark, suggests a date of 1906. If it where 1881 you should expect a duty mark (although you do have the original item in front of you and the marks are different). My gut reaction to the piece was to think 1881 though :)

Yes, the piece appears to have been assyed in Birmingham.

Maker's mark was punched seperately (by the maker) than the date letter/assay office/lion passant (by the Assay Office), so while those marks tend to be found together, the maker's mark can appear in all sorts of crazy locations.

Regards

Waylander

[mountaindew171]

Thanks for the help. I was confused about the duty mark too. In fact at first i was saying 1906 but the more I looked at the "g" the more it looked like the one for 1881. Could the absence of a duty mark mean that the tax duty wasn't paid on it? Like a "black market" or something?

I don't even know if thats possible since I don't know much about this stuff but I was just thinking about the bootleg stuff that comes into the US nowdays.

How can I get a better pic? I have an older digital and used macro but the ones here are the best I got. Any tips appriciated. Also any ideas to get a better look at the makers mark. A friend who had one of those things jewelers use looked at it and says it looks like an "EA" but I dont see any mark like that listed and truthfully I don't see that when I look at it.

Thanks again for your imput. This is really cool it's like unraveling a mystery :)

[Waylander]

Edward Adams Jeweller entered his mark 25/02/1846, but this date may be a bit earlier. As for a better photo - you may need a higher optical zoom resolution in conjunction with a good maco function.

As for the issue of no duty mark - search for duty dodgers on this website - there is a lot of talk about it - perhaps your locket was small enough to be exempt? Not sure, I will wait for others to comment

Waylander

[dognose]

Hi,
Lockets along with many other small items were exempted from duty, under the act 30. Geo. III. c.31 1790.
Regards Trev.

[mountaindew171]

You guys are great!!!! Thanks for all your help! I am going to go read about duty dodgers if I can find it, sounds interesting.

[Doos]

How to thank the admin

[mountaindew171]

LOL, wish I could help ya with that but "for mail order delivery to any UK address" I'm in the U.S. Have to say the edible inkpens looked interesting! So is that your company?

[Waylander]

Thanks for the info Trev

Doos, good idea!

Waylander