Hi,
I’m sorry for what is probably a very amateur question but I have found an item that does not have a hallmark. It has a makers marks but i cannot understand the other marks despite the amount of research i put in.
The CS FS mark i am fine with, but what are the other marks and I see? Also why is there no hallmark on the item?
Any help would be gratefully accepted.
ST SIL is your hallmark. Im not familiar with it or the indecipherable marks with it but ST SIL is Sterling Silver…
For me it reads STD SILH with the D and H as superscripts with a dot below. I initially thought STG SIL which would have suggested having been made by Saunders & Shepherd (CS FS) for a colonial market such as Australia. But I have no idea what STD SILH might mean.
Phil
Ah I see. All the material i was reading online was saying hallmarks were symbols such as the lion etc etc. I didn’t realise that was a hallmark. Is one of the letters referring to a year of make do you think?
Thanks for the help
The item is a sort of scarf clip. I originally thought it was a belt buckle but am thinking not now.
Yes i think you are correct, the cs fs i think was sanders and shepherd, that is about as far as I managed to get with my very very limited knowledge.
Thank you very much for your help
Strictly speaking the mark on your clip is not a hallmark as, by definition, a hallmark is applied by an independent body which has tested the silver quality. This mark was probably applied by the manufacturer so is not an objective quality guarantee.
Ah I see.
I have the difficult task of looking up all sorts of silver markings as we are carefully trying to sort my Grandmother stuff out after her passing.
To help under, is there a set order to which markings are put in the item?
I.e makers mark first, year second etc etc because I can’t understand when i look at it what corresponds to what.
For example the picture i will attach.
This is a huge ladle
To answer your question: no, there is no specified order for the components of a hallmark.
However the marks on your ladle are not a silver hallmark as it is electroplated. So JR&S is simply the manufacturer’s initials, probably John Round & Son of Sheffield. The “A” is an indication of plating quality - “A1” is normally used as best quality.
Phil
