Hallmark guide
Silver and gold hallmarks, mark by mark
What the numbers, letters and symbols stamped on jewelry, flatware and bullion mean — which ones prove precious metal, which ones mean plate, and what each is worth today. Every page cites its sources.
01
Silver marks
- 925925 means 925 parts of pure silver per 1,000, i.e. sterling silver (92.5%). In the UK it is the modern numeric fineness mark for sterling, and under US FTC guides an item may only be called sterling if it is at least 925/1,000 pure silver. It is also one of the silver standards recognised by the 1972 Vienna Hallmarking Convention.
- STERLINGSTERLING (or 'Sterling Silver') marks an item as at least 925/1,000 pure silver. The FTC Jewelry Guides say the words 'Sterling', 'Sterling Silver' and 'solid silver' are misleading unless the item is at least 925/1,000 silver, and the US National Stamping Act bars the word 'sterling' on silver-plated articles.
- STER / STER.'Ster.' is the abbreviation of sterling named in the FTC Jewelry Guides; like 'Sterling' it may only be used on items at least 925/1,000 pure silver.
- 958 / Britannia958 is the Britannia silver standard: 95.8% pure silver, higher than sterling. It was introduced in 1697 to stop silverware being made from melted coins and was the only legal standard for wrought silver until 1720; it remains a legal UK standard. Imported Britannia silver assayed in Britain from 1904/1906 used the decimal mark .9584 in an oval.
- 999 / FINE999 marks fine silver, 99.9% pure. Birmingham Assay Office lists it among common UK silver standards, and it is the purity used for most silver bullion bars and coins.
- 900 / COINIn the US, the words 'coin' or 'coin silver' may only be used on items that are at least 900/1,000 pure silver (FTC Jewelry Guides). 900 is also the fineness of pre-1965 US silver coins.
- 800800 means 800 parts of silver per 1,000 (80%). It was one of the three silver standards recognised by the 1972 Vienna Hallmarking Convention, it is the lowest fineness German law allows to be stated on silverware, and it is one of Italy's two legal silver finenesses.
- 830830 means 830 parts of silver per 1,000. It was one of the silver standards recognised in the original 1972 Vienna Hallmarking Convention, and is commonly found on older Scandinavian silver.
- 835835 means 835 parts of silver per 1,000. German law since 1884 lets makers state silver fineness in thousandths on silverware at 800 or higher, and 835 was a common German choice; it was also the standard of many Latin Monetary Union coins.
- Lion passant (walking lion, right forepaw raised)The lion passant is the English standard mark for sterling silver (925). It was added to English marks in 1544, was struck by all English assay offices after 1720, and today is an optional traditional mark alongside the numeric 925. Before 1821 the London lion was 'guardant' (head turned to face the viewer).
- Lion rampant (standing lion)The lion rampant denotes sterling silver (925) and can only be used by the Edinburgh Assay Office, where it has been in use since 1975. Historically the Glasgow office also used a lion rampant as its sterling mark.
- ThistleThe thistle was the Edinburgh Assay Office's standard mark for sterling silver (925). It was later succeeded by the lion rampant, which Edinburgh has used since 1975.
- Britannia figure (seated or standing woman)The figure of Britannia denotes the Britannia silver standard of 958 (95.8% silver). From 1697 to 1720 it replaced the lion passant as the standard mark; it is still a legal (voluntary traditional) mark for 958 silver today.
- Lion's head erased (lion's head with a jagged neckline)The lion's head erased - a lion's head with a jagged cut neck - was struck on Britannia-standard silver (958) during 1697-1720, replacing the leopard's head, alongside the Britannia figure. Chester, Exeter, Newcastle and York were also authorised to strike it.
- Leopard's head (crowned before 1821, uncrowned after)The leopard's head is the mark of the London Assay Office. It began as the original standard mark decreed in 1300, gained a crown in 1478, and on London sterling has been uncrowned since 1821. After 1720 some provincial English offices also struck it, so it is reliably 'London' only when no other town mark is present.
- AnchorAn anchor is the town mark of the Birmingham Assay Office, which was founded in 1773. It tells you where the item was tested, not its purity - read the fineness mark beside it.
- Crown (Sheffield town mark on silver)A crown was the Sheffield Assay Office's town mark for silver from 1773 until 1975, when Sheffield replaced it with the Yorkshire rose for all precious metals after the Hallmarking Act 1973. An antique silver piece hallmarked in Sheffield can therefore show a crown.
- Rose (Yorkshire rose)The Yorkshire rose is the Sheffield Assay Office mark. Sheffield adopted it for gold in 1904 and, after the Hallmarking Act 1973, replaced the crown with the rose for all precious metals in 1975.
- Castle (three-towered)A three-towered castle is the town mark of the Edinburgh Assay Office. It shows where the piece was assayed; the fineness comes from the thistle, lion rampant or numeric mark.
- Common Control Mark (scales)The Common Control Mark - a balance (scales) mark - shows that a Convention-designated assay office tested the item; Type 1 combines the fineness in parts per thousand with a shield shape for the metal. It is accepted in all member states without re-testing and is voluntary.
- Crescent moon and crownUnder German law, the fineness stamp on silverware must contain the Imperial crown, a crescent moon (for silver), the fineness in thousandths, and the firm's name or trademark; the crown sits to the right of the crescent. The crescent and crown therefore say 'German silver of declared fineness' - the number beside them gives the purity.
- Polygon with a five-pointed star, maker number and province code (beside the fineness number)Italy's identification mark is a polygon containing a five-pointed star, the number assigned to the producer and the abbreviation of its province; it must be stamped together with the fineness in thousandths. Legal Italian finenesses are 925 and 800 for silver and 750, 585 and 375 for gold.
02
Gold marks
- 24K / 99924 karat is fine (pure) gold. The FTC Guides treat unqualified 'Gold' as meaning fine 24-karat gold, and Birmingham Assay Office lists 999 (99.9%) and 990 (99%) among UK gold finenesses.
- 22K / 916916 (91.6% gold) is 22 karat, a legal UK fineness listed by Birmingham Assay Office.
- 18K / 750750 (75% gold) is 18 karat. It is a UK legal fineness and was a standard recognised by the 1972 Vienna Convention, and one of Italy's legal gold finenesses.
- 14K14K means 14 parts gold out of 24 (about 58.3%). The FTC Guides allow karat-only marks such as '14 Karat', '14Kt.' or '14 K.', and the National Stamping Act allows a tolerance of 3 parts per thousand (7 with solder).
- 585585 means 585 parts of gold per 1,000 (58.5%), the decimal mark for 14-karat gold. It is a UK legal fineness, a 1972 Convention standard, the lowest gold fineness German law allows on gold ware, and a legal Italian fineness.
- 10K / 41710K is 10 parts gold in 24 (417 in decimal). Wikipedia notes it was historically the US minimum for gold; the current FTC Guides (since 2018) allow any accurate karat marking, e.g. '9 Kt. Gold'.
- 9K / 375375 (37.5% gold) is 9 karat, the lowest UK gold fineness listed by Birmingham Assay Office and a 1972 Convention standard; it is also legal in Italy. The FTC Guides accept '9 Karat Gold' or '9 Kt.' marks.
- Crown (UK gold standard mark)In UK hallmarks a crown is the traditional standard mark for gold, shown alongside the numeric fineness (e.g. 375, 750). Today it is a voluntary additional mark.
- Sun with crown insideGerman law requires the fineness stamp on gold ware to show the Imperial crown inside a sun sign, together with the fineness in thousandths and the firm's name or trademark. German gold ware may only be marked at 585 thousandths or higher.
03
Plated, filled and other marks
- PT950 / PLAT / 950 PtUnder the FTC Guides, an item may be marked simply 'Platinum' (or 'Plat.'/'Pt.') only if it is at least 950 parts per thousand pure platinum; '900Pt.' and '850Pt.' are allowed when the number precedes the mark. Below 850 the full alloy must be disclosed (e.g. '585 Pt., 415 Co.').
- Orb (UK platinum mark)In UK hallmarks the orb is the traditional mark for 950 platinum; it is a voluntary additional mark next to the compulsory sponsor's, fineness and assay office marks.
- VERMEILUnder the FTC Guides, 'vermeil' means a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold or gold alloy of at least 10 karat, at least 2.5 microns thick. If nickel or another base metal sits between the silver and gold, that must be disclosed.
- GF / Gold FilledGold filled means a gold-alloy layer of at least 10 karat bonded mechanically to a base metal, making up at least 1/20 of the item's total metal weight. The FTC Guides require the karat to precede the term (e.g. '14K Gold Filled').
- 1/20 12K GF'1/20 12K GF' means the item is gold filled with 12-karat gold, and the gold layer is at least 1/20 (5%) of the item's metal weight. FTC rules for gold-filled require at least 1/20 by weight and at least 10-karat alloy.
- RGP / Rolled Gold PlateRolled gold plate (RGP) is gold alloy of at least 10 karat bonded mechanically to base metal, making up at least 1/40 of the item's metal weight, with the karat stated (e.g. '14K. R.G.P.' or '1/40 12 Kt. R.G.P.'). If the layer is 1/20 or more, it may be called gold filled.
- GP / Gold PlatedUnder the FTC Guides, 'Gold Plate' or 'Gold Plated' must be preceded by the karat of the plating, and the gold layer must be durable. Mechanically bonded plating qualifies at 1/40 of metal weight; electroplated gold qualifies at a minimum of 0.175 microns of fine-gold equivalent.
- GEP / Gold ElectroplateGold electroplate (GEP) means an electrolytically applied gold layer of at least 10 karat and at least 0.175 microns (about 7 millionths of an inch) of fine-gold equivalent, with the karat stated first (e.g. '12K G.E.P.').
- HGEThe FTC Guides allow 'Heavy Gold Electroplate' for gold electroplating of at least 10 karat and at least 2.5 microns of fine-gold equivalent. HGE is commonly read as that term; Wikipedia notes it is also expanded as 'high grade electroplate' and says the stamp itself just means gold plated.
- EPNSEPNS stands for Electro Plated Nickel Silver: a thin layer of silver electroplated onto nickel silver, a base alloy. Birmingham Assay Office lists EPNS as a silver-plated mark, not solid silver, and The Silver Society notes makers often set the letters in shields to look like hallmarks.
- EPBMEPBM marks silver-plated Britannia metal. Birmingham Assay Office lists EPBM as a silver-plated mark, and Britannia metal is a tin-based alloy widely used as the base for silver-plated household goods.
- NICKEL SILVER / GERMAN SILVERNickel silver (also called German silver, alpacca or argentan) is an alloy of copper, nickel and usually zinc; it contains no silver. It is the base metal under EPNS silver-plated wares.