Hamburg City Mark - Purity?

[runningdave]

hello,

i bought several old teaspoons marked with the hamburg city mark and different makers marks. but none has a mark that indicates the purity in loth. as far as i know the hamburg city mark guaranties silver. but does it also guaranty a minimum purity?

[Bahner]

Hello, punching with the city mark generally guaranteed that the local rules and regulations concerning the fineness of silver were followed by the maker or retailer. For Hamburg at least four different regulations are known. In 1599 it was stated that the minimum fineness should be 14 Lot, in 1630 this was lowered to 13 1/2 Lot, again this was lowered in 1707 to 12 Lot 3 Grän. In 1760 the standard became even lower: just 12 Lot. It looks like this remained the standard until the new law of 1888. In the region around Hamburg the minimum fineness went as low as 11 Lot in the 18th century. Best wishes, Bahner

[runningdave]

@bahner

thank you very much for this detailed information. i guess my spoons are form the 19th century. many of them have a small letter on the mark. i bought them as 800 silver. but 12 lot is still OK for me.