hallmark, symbol or series of symbols stamped on an article of gold or silver to denote that it conforms to legal standards that define the maximum proportion of base metals that may be alloyed with pure gold or silver for hardening or other purposes; in broader terms, any mark distinguishing source and quality.
In Great Britain the presence of a hallmark on an article indicates that it has been sampled and tested at an authorized assay office. Most articles are required by British law to be hallmarked before sale, although there are certain exemptions (e.g., gold rings other than mourning or wedding rings). Manufacturers normally send their wares to an assay office complete except for final polishing. Representative scrapings are taken from every article and accurately assayed by chemical methods. Articles that pass are stamped with the appropriate symbols of the hallmark, but any that are below the lowest standard are required by law to be broken before being returned to the manufacturer.
Hallmarking in Great Britain dates from Edward I. A statute of 1300 provided that no gold or silver be sold until tested by the “Gardiens of the Craft” and struck with the leopard’s head first known as the king’s mark. Later, a lion passant was introduced as the standard mark, and the leopard’s head was retained as the London town mark. From 1478 to 1821 a crown was added. It was replaced in Edinburgh by a thistle and in Glasgow by a thistle and a lion rampant.
A maker’s mark was introduced by a statute of 1363. At first a device was used—a fish, a key, or a fleur-de-lis, for example—often taken no doubt from the sign outside the goldsmith’s shop. Gradually, it became the practice for the maker to use the initials of his given name and surname alone or in conjunction with a device.
Gold hallmarks differ little from those on sterling, mainly in the addition of marks reflecting the proportion of pure gold in both karats and percent. Dates are coded by letters on a shield. Other marks—e.g., a figure of Britannia for higher silver content and a sovereign’s head reflecting payment of duty—have been adopted from time to time. In London the London Goldsmith’s Company (later the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths) has been responsible for the assay and marking of plate, and the word hallmark means literally a mark applied at Goldsmith’s Hall.
Many countries outside the United Kingdom have a system of plate marks. In the United States no hallmarks are required on silver or gold objects because there has been no guild or government regulation comparable to that of Great Britain. Local regulatory practices were established in New York, Boston, Baltimore, and elsewhere in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but no consistent system of symbols was adopted. Maker’s marks appear, usually consisting of the initials or name of the maker. Beginning in the early 19th century the words coin (900 parts fine silver to 100 parts alloy) and sterling (925 parts fine silver to 75 parts copper) were stamped on silver objects, and in 1906 the use of the words became subject to federal regulation. The purity of gold is given in karats, pure gold being 24 karats; its marking is also subject to federal regulation.