www.925-1000.com

Wonder if anyone would know why many early coin silver pieces are unmarked. Based on my limited knowledge of the methods of fabricating items - quite a bit of work went into making each piece - especially if it is bright-cut engraved. Did silversmiths leave things unmarked for a reason... or did they just not get around to marking them?

Could they be made on spec. to sell to other silversmiths or retailers? Or made by apprentices waiting for approval from the head smith, or for another reason. What is the most reasonable explanation for an item being unmarked? Tks.

Hallmarking had only one purpose; to collect taxes for state, royal treasury, so that monarchs, aristocracy, and upper class could maintain their lavish lifestyle, and from time to time to finance wars.
Some silversmiths tried to avoid taxation; compare with today`s super rich individuals who avoid paying taxes with the help of extensive legal teams. Besides, royalty (Spain, Belgium) were caught in bribery in broad daylight, for which an ordinary, low obedient citizen would be sentenced to prison term. They just abdicate and move elsewhere to tropic paradise.
The collectors of silver spend much time, knowledge and effort deciphering historic marks, but they miss the crucial point; marks were meant to prove TAXATION.
Regards

For the trued about Hallmarking see;
https://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/company ... llmarking/

or to protect buyers;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark
https://www.ewnederland.nl/en/onze-diensten/
https://www.royalmint.com/stories/colle ... llmarking/


Peter.

Thank you for the replies. Our rulers always want their taxes.

I was attempting to ask specifically about .900 American coin silver items where the marks are usually only a makers initials. There is quite a bit of unmarked American coin silver.

For the answer on your question see:

https://www.hallmarkresearch.com/html/H ... 0tolerance.

Peter.

I’d sure like to see this graveyard of unmarked American Coin Silver that you believe is out there! Bear in mind that the internet is just a delusional fantasy where a few items dumped into a tight space, sometimes incorrectly labeled, can make it look like the real stuff is falling out of the cupboards in every house on the block. In reality, it ain’t.

Now, prior to the growth of railroads the average American rarely traveled beyond a few miles from home. Most of the wares were kept in that community and the makers were known to the people who dealt with these goods. If something had to be resold then simple marks were enough for those in the know (jewelers, dealers, auctioneers) to be able to readily claim the level of authenticity. And beyond the confines of big urban areas the population was generally quite sparse for the large landmass available to settlement. Those who did transplant to new places often unloaded their holdings locally before the move. There wasn’t much need for a transmissible universal marking system.

After rail expansion, people began to move about more freely and could transport their household furnishings. Better markings started to come in, but the era of Sterling standards rapidly replaced the old trade in coin grades. At the same time, many more people were buying into the silverplated wares which were coming into production at a mass scale with the newfangled electric plating processes. A fork made with a brass base and a layer of plate might easily be taken to be coin silver and would cost you far less. A lot of that stuff might be out there with no discernible markings. (The big new silver strikes of Nevada didn’t occur until the 1870’s era. After that, sterling became more available for several reasons including not only the ore but the political push to suppress silver prices and promote that gold standard. This metal was increasingly important in manufacturing while the yellow stuff collected dust in bankers vaults since the growing stock of it was hardly ever depleted before space age electronics existed. The people running things in a factory based economy did not want silver to accelerate towards the real price of where it would be if you had to factor in the environmental damage done to recover and refine it. They still don’t, but that’s another story to be fixed by future generations.) What did I miss?

From the late 1820s on, silver flatware was being produced at factory level for sale to retailers across the eastern seaboard and the midwest. Such goods were often unmarked, left to be stamped by the ultimate seller with his name. For many, it was not worth the time and expense to purchase a suitable punch to do so, so goods were sold as they came out of the wholesale box, ie blank.

Thank you for the replies. I am seeing a number of American coin silver spoons from around 1800 unmarked. Sets of coffin end spoons, some earlier - 1780's-90's, etc. Those are really what I was asking about. Was just curious. Tks