Goss Street.
Photographed below is the Chester Assay Office which was located on Goss Street in Chester.
Is there still an Assay Office in Chester?
Chester was granted an official Assay Office by an Act of Parliament in 1700. Its marks were similar to those of London hallmarked silver and the sequence of date letters followed in alphabetical order. The Chester assay office closed down in 1962.
Where are the 4 assay offices in the UK?
Assay Offices test the purity of precious metals, to protect consumers from buying fake items.
There are 4 Assay Offices in the UK:
- Birmingham Assay Office.
- Edinburgh Assay Office.
- London Assay Office.
- Sheffield Assay Office.
What is the assay mark for Chester?
Most British and Irish silver carry a number of stamps indicating not just the standard or purity mark but also the initials of the maker, a date letter and the place of assay. Chester’s mark is three wheat sheaves and a sword.
Which Assay Office is the lion?
Birmingham
English: Blue brick sterling lion “hallmark”, one of many, sculpted into the wall on the new Assay Office, Birmingham, opened 2015, which replaces the Victorian Assay Office on Newhall Street, Birmingham, England.
Is Chester silver rare?
Silver marked with the full Chester city arms mark is very rare, the more familiar three wheat sheaf mark being introduced in 1779, and this fine looking Georgian period antique mug bears a clear example.
How many assay offices are there in the UK?
Today there are four assay offices in Great Britain: Birmingham, Edinburgh, London and Sheffield. There is also an assay office in Dublin, which until 1923 was recognised as a having approved British hallmarks and continues to mark articles in a similar manner.
How do I identify a silver hallmark?
Silver hallmarks comprise four main elements: the town mark, the date letter, the maker’s mark, and the lion passant. During the period between 1784-1890 a duty was placed on gold and silver, leading to the introduction of the duty mark.
What is the Assay Office?
Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items.
How do you identify hallmarks?
The four components of a hallmark are: the sponsor or maker’s mark, the standard mark, the assay office mark and the date letter for the year. Hallmark identification should answer four important questions – where; what; when; who.
Who is the king’s assay master?
Graeme Smith – Head of Consumer Manufacturing & The Kings Assay Master at The Royal Mint – Newport, Wales, United Kingdom | LinkedIn.
What are the 5 standard silver marks?
There are five standard marks used in British and Irish silver:
- A walking lion marks all sterling silver made in England.
- A standing lion marks all sterling silver made in Glasgow.
- A thistle marks all sterling silver made in Edinburgh.
- A crowned harp marks all silver made in Dublin.
How do you date gold hallmarks?
Hallmarks provide proof of an article’s precious metal content, and older items should feature a date letter to denote the year it was hallmarked.
Gold hallmarks date letters
- Chester – closed 1962.
- Exeter – closed 1883.
- Glasgow – closed 1964.
- Newcastle – closed 1884.
- Norwich – closed 1702.
- York – closed 1858.
What does 22 mean on a gold ring?
22 carat gold
In our example, you can see the ’22’ stamp, indicating 22 carat gold. The next mark tells us which assay office hallmarked the jewellery item.
What if my gold is not hallmarked?
A consumer will have to give his/her un-hallmarked gold jewellery to the BIS registered jeweller. The BIS registered jeweller will visit the BIS Assaying & Hallmarking centre to get the old un-hallmarked jewellery hallmarked. Do note that the jeweller will charge you Rs 35 for hallmarking per piece of gold jewellery.
Can hallmarks wear off?
Even though the hallmark can be completely worn away there may still be remnant plastic deformation within the metal from the act of striking the surface to create the hallmark.
What does Z mean on silver?
In this case the letter ‘z’ (2) indicates it was assayed in 1874. The date letter changes every year so you can precisely date the year it was made. The maker’s mark (1) shows that it was made by Robert Thornton.
How can you tell if silver is vintage?
For a piece to be considered antique silver, it must be over 100 years old. Silver items from the nineteenth century and early twentieth would be classified as antiques. Vintage silver, on the other hand, is 50 years old or younger. Typically, antique silver items are worth more money.
What is the most valuable type of silver?
999 silver jewelry
999 silver jewelry is the closest you’ll get to pure silver. It’s called . 999 silver because it’s technically 99.9% pure silver! This type of silver is the highest quality silver you can buy.
What does an Anchor hallmark mean on gold?
This symbol shows which Assay Office tested and marked the item. The Anchor is the symbol of Assay Office Birmingham .
Where is silver hallmarked?
Today there are still offices in Edinburgh, where hallmarking has been regulated since the 15th century, and in Birmingham and Sheffield, where assay offices were established by an Act of Parliament in 1773. Dublin’s assay office has been operating since the middle of the 17th century and silver is still marked there.