Hallmarking

The hallmark is a set of component marks applied to items made of gold, silver, platinum or palladium. It takes its name from Goldsmiths’ Hall, where Hallmarking began more than 700 years ago, and can tell you when and where an item was tested and marked, which metals it is made from and their purity or fineness, and who submitted it for Hallmarking.

At the Goldsmiths’ Company London Assay Office, we apply the full traditional UK hallmark, which is made up of five component marks.

Sponsor’s Mark

The first mark is the Sponsor’s or Maker’s Mark. It tells you who sent an item in to be assayed. Normally this is the person or company who made it, and the mark is composed of their initials inside a shield shape. The Sponsor’s Mark must be a minimum of two letters and a maximum of five letters. Each one is unique, and to make sure that makers with the same initials don’t get mixed up, two different fonts, and 45 different shield shapes are used.

Traditional and Millesimal Fineness Marks

The second and third marks are the Traditional and Millesimal Fineness Marks. The Traditional Fineness Mark tell you which metal an item is made from. The Millesimal Fineness Mark supplies more information, telling you both which precious metal an item is made from and how pure it is on a rating from 0–1000. A 999 mark means that the precious metal is as pure as it can be. The purity mark for each precious metal has a different shaped border, making it easy to tell the difference between metals that share the same colour, like silver and platinum.

Assay Office Mark

The fourth mark tells you which Assay Office tested and hallmarked an item. Today there are four Assay Offices in the UK, and each of them has a different mark. A leopard for the London Assay Office, an anchor for the Birmingham Assay Office, a rose for the Sheffield Assay Office, and a castle for the Edinburgh Assay Office.

Date Mark

The fifth mark is the date letter. This tells you when an item was hallmarked. The date letter changes every year on January 1. The font, case, and shield shape around the letter change once the alphabet has been completed so each letter is unique to a specific year.

Hallmarking Stories
Goldsmiths' Hallmark Authentication Committee
Goldsmiths' Hallmark Authentication Committee

The Goldsmiths' Hallmark Authentication Committee (GHAC) - formerly The Antique Plate Committee (APC) - was founded in 1939, and is a unique, internationally renowned body, that adjudicates and advises on: the authenticity of an article’s provenance; whether an illegal alteration or an addition has been made; and if the hallmark applied to it is genuine or a forgery.

Film: The King Charles III Coronation Mark
Film: The King Charles III Coronation Mark

To commemorate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, Assay Offices across the UK have issued a commemorative component mark which can be applied to all precious metals in addition to the hallmark. Watch our expert engineers and technicians creating and applying the mark in London.

Hallmarking gets a new home
Hallmarking gets a new home

Those lucky enough to go behind the scenes at the London Assay Office this year will find the historic leopard’s head hallmark being applied in a new, state-of-the-art workshop facility.

Short film series: The Platinum Jubilee Mark
Short film series: The Platinum Jubilee Mark

Watch a series of four short films by filmmaker Lucy Emms, exploring the process and meeting the people behind the creation, application and use of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Mark.

Little pieces of history - A brief exploration of Commemorative Marks and Commissions
Little pieces of history - A brief exploration of Commemorative Marks and Commissions

As the nations prepare to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we explore the unique Marks and special pieces created to commemorate important celebrations in the 20th and 21st Centuries.

The Hallmark as a Hero
The Hallmark as a Hero

Sophia Tobin, Goldsmiths' Company Deputy Librarian, discusses the enduring necessity, appeal, and beauty of one of the worlds oldest forms of consumer protection - the Hallmark.

The History of Hallmarking
The History of Hallmarking

Discover the history of Hallmarking in London, from 1300 to the present day.

How to trace an historic London hallmark
How to trace an historic London hallmark

Find out how the Library & Archive team can help you to identify historic hallmarks.

Prove, Protect and Adorn
Prove, Protect and Adorn

Hallmarking has long been celebrated as the UK’s oldest continuous form of consumer protection, but how do you make such a venerable institution serve makers and buyers in the 21st century?

Though the coin be fair: hallmarking and language
Though the coin be fair: hallmarking and language

Precious metal has been a source of fascination for human beings since earliest times, and assaying is mentioned in the Bible as far back as the book of Isaiah (8th century BCE). It is little wonder that references to assaying have been absorbed into our language, becoming subject to semantic change and acquiring wider cultural significance.

Counterfeit cases: fakes and forgeries in Antique Silver
Counterfeit cases: fakes and forgeries in Antique Silver

The quarterly meetings of the Goldsmiths’ Hallmark Authentication Committee are usually concerned with mundane items such as tankards converted into hot water jugs, re-shaped dinner plates and rose bowls constructed from meat-dish covers. However, just occasionally a group of pieces is brought to the Committee’s attention which gives real cause for concern.

The Peter Ashley-Russell fakes & forgeries case
The Peter Ashley-Russell fakes & forgeries case

At the Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Thursday 25 September 2008, Mr. Peter Ashley-Russell was sentenced to a total of three years’ imprisonment for offences under the Forgery Act 2006, four offences relating to the faking and forging of antique silver. Ashley-Russell was responsible for the faking and forging of 39 antique spoons, forks, coffee pots and a tazza made of silver. The fraudulent activities included conversion of spoons to forks to increase their value and the application of fake hallmarks using imitation punches that Peter Ashley-Russell had forged.

Trace a hallmark

The hallmark is the UK’s oldest form of consumer protection. It can tell you where and when a piece of silver or jewellery was made, and who brought it to be hallmarked. The Goldsmiths’ Company Library and Archive team can help you to identify a wide range of historic hallmarks.

Find out how →