Scottish silver

Scottish marks are known as early as the middle of the fifteenth century. By 1681 the goldsmiths of Edinburgh had adopted a variable date letter and abandoned the deacon’s mark instituted in 1457 for the mark of the Assay Master. This in its turn was substituted by a thistle in 1759. The town mark is a triple-towered castle.

Although there was an active group of goldsmiths in Glasgow, mentioned in records as early as 1536, no Glasgow silver earlier than approximately 1681 appears to be marked with anything but perhaps the maker’s mark and burgh arms: a tree with a bird on the top, a hand bell suspended from the branches and across or below the trunk a salmon with a ring in its mouth (termed the fish, tree and bell mark). A date letter also came into use but was discontinued after 1710. It was regularised in 1819, and was used until the office closed in 1964. From about 1730 to approximately 1800 the letter S, in a shaped punch which was varied, was also generally applied and is thought to represent ‘Sterling’ or ‘Standard Quality’. The marks for Glasgow, after an Act of 1819 which constituted the Glasgow Goldsmiths‘ Company a body corporate, were the date letter, the lion rampant mark – from the Royal Standard of Scotland – used as the standard mark, the town mark, maker’s mark and sovereign’s duty mark.

Antique Collector MagazineApart from Edinburgh and Glasgow there were various other towns where silver was marked including Canongate (now part of Edinburgh), Aberdeen, Arbroath, Dundee, Elgin, Greenock, Inverness, Montrose, Perth, Tain and Wick.

In Scotland, although the sovereign’s head was struck on silver after 1784 – in common with England – to indicate that duty had been paid, there was sometimes a delay in the change of the head following the accession of a new monarch. The head of Queen Victoria, for instance, did not appear on Edinburgh silver until some four years after she had become queen.

Irish silver

Irish silver, often hard to date, was not marked until the seventeenth century, although silversmiths had worked in Ireland from early times. A Royal Charter was granted by Charles I to Dublin goldsmiths in 1637, ordaining that their silver was to be marked by the harp crowned – the King’s Majesty’s stamp and the standard of fineness — and the maker’s mark. A date letter was used irregularly from 1638. The mark of Hibernia was added in 1730-31. Note should be made that the figure of Hibernia can be particularly misleading for beginners, since it can be easily confused with the Britannia mark. Approximately ten years after the disuse of Britannia, the Irish Parliament taxed certain items of silver to raise funds for agricultural improvements. To show that payment had been received, the mark of Hibernia was stamped. The head of the sovereign — the duty mark used in England — was stamped from 1807 to 1890, replacing that of Hibernia as a duty mark, and Hibernia, retained, became the town mark of Dublin.

The assaying of Dublin silver was not always consistent, some being sold unmarked and other pieces bearing only the crowned harp, Hibernia and a maker’s mark. This applies to the period covered by the reigns of George II and George III and, since the year letter was omitted there is no possibility of dating pieces by this method. Until approximately 1850 the maker’s mark generally consisted of the initials of Christian and surname, separate or monogrammed, and could be crowned or used in conjunction with an emblem until about 1760. During the nineteenth century the complete surname sometimes appeared. Silver assayed at Dublin was usually of good quality and often of fine workmanship. Emigre Huguenot silversmiths sought refuge in Ireland after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and their fine work influenced the general standard.

Although the law required Irish silversmiths to have their wares assayed in Dublin, this edict was often ignored. Silversmiths sometimes preferred to avoid payment of the duty which was required from 1730 and thus their wares would be marked inconsistently, perhaps with unfamiliar deVices. Among those who disregarded the law were the silversmiths of Cork, who belonged to the Company of the Society of Goldsmiths of the City of Cork, a body which admitted other craftsmen and tradesmen into its ranks. The town mark until 1715 was a ship in full sail between two castles, all details of which might appear in one punch, but sometimes the ship might be alone in a punch with the castle being punched once — or twice — separately. Cork silver after 1710 might also be marked Sterling, and this also appeared sometimes on Galway silver between 1650 and 1730. Silversmiths were also known to have worked at Limerick, Youghal, Kinsale, Londonderry and Kilkenny.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Antique Silver Classic Collection in UK