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I have these 6 small spoons, 12 grams each. They have the Sterling lion, a date letter A, a bust (George III?) and a maker mark, first letter capital G, second letter most probably also capital G. City mark is missing.
I assume they are from London, GG for George Gray and A for 1796. What do you think?
And, if correct, why is the city mark missing?
Thank you, Jörg

Hi,
I think you are right about George Gray.
Leopard's head is missing to prevent transposed marks at the time;pay duty on light spoons, have them hallmarked, back in the workshop transpose (solder) marks to a teapot.
Regards

I understand the matter of transporting a mark from a small object to a large one, but it is a bit difficult for me to understand why is missing the leopard head (city) instead of the king's head (duty).
Amena

Hi Amena,

The Duty mark was a mark struck by the assay office on behalf of the Government Excise Office to show that the duty had been paid. It was not a hallmark as such and the assay office received a fee for doing this service as well as collecting the payment due.

Trev.

All
thank you for your contribution and the clarification on the missing mark. Makes sense. Item closed.

Let me spin off from the original topic, asking on the duties due in various times and countries.
How much was the tax on silver in London in the late 17hunderts? And in France in the Ancien Regime?
I recall there was a long article in the forum a couple of years ago on the Prussien FW mark imposed during the Napoleonic wars. I recall I was impressed how high it was.
Can you recommend some reading on this, maybe link some articles?

Thank you very much

Hi,
Between 1720 and 1758 a tax of sixpence per ounce was levied on all newly made silver sent to an assay office for testing and marking.
Historical value of sixpence in 1750 was approximately £3 today.
Regards