No city marks on English Georgian period sterling silver

[Tricky625]

Hello,

Lately I have noticed a couple of items either online or owned with no city hallmark. The hallmarks that are present (date letter, lion passant and duty mark) seem to be of English origin.

Is anyone able to shed some light on the omission of city marks on English Georgian sterling in general? Was this simply an error or Is there a reason for this? Is this un-common?

(admin edit - only one item per topic - please start a new topic with your other item. - see Posting Requirements )

Another possibility is that these pieces are in fact not English at all.

Any help would be appreciated.

[dognose]

Hi Tricky,

No, it's not a error. Small items assayed at London at this period are deliberately missing the town mark. This was a measure to to prevent the marks being removed from smaller items and being transposed into larger pieces.

The maker was George Smith (IV) and the spoon assayed at London in 1797. The indents on the duty mark reflect the increase in the duty in that year.

Please remember to keep your images to within the 7" (18cm) width limits. We look forward to seeing your other item.

Trev.