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I have this ring which is an old sterling silver ring and has a hallmark that I cannot identify. The mark is a 'T C - 7B. I am not certain that the C is a C. It is very faint. Any help in identifying this mark will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Please contact me by email.

The mark means it was made in Taxco, Mexico, by a silversmith who's last name started with "C". The number is that particular silversmith's registration number. The fact that it uses the "XY-00" format also indicates that it was made after 1979, which is when the Mexican government established the letter and number marking system for silversmiths. The first letter is the first letter of the name of the city the piece was made in, the second letter is the first letter of the silversmith's last name. I hear it's not easy to match maker's marks to names but there a few that are of well-known smiths. Do some research on google or dogpile to try and find the specific maker's name.

P.S. the "B" is actually most likely a number 8, since the last 2 characters on the post-1979 Mexican marks are always numbers which are assigned to each silversmith when they register with the government assay office. The mark also guarantees .925 or greater purity (unless of course the mark is forged) If a piece of Mexican jewelry has the maker's mark but no purity mark it is either forged or made of a higher fineness of silver. I think .950 and .980 or somewhere around those are also popular with certain Mexican jewelry.

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