European Hallmarks
Britain has a clear hallmarking system going back over hundreds of years. Continental Europe however is much more complicated when it comes to hallmarking. I have found a website which is very helpful in identifying those difficult marks.
For More information on European Hallmarks click the lnk below.
Some times I find it very difficult to date European Silver. Unlike the English Hallmarks various European Countries have a variety of marking systems. The picture below is of a Dutch Spoon. You will see in the bottom right hand side of the picture the hallmark
If you now look at the picture of this mark below you will see it is the stamp of a Lion above the number 2. This denotes it is Dutch and of .833 Standard.
On the handle of this spoon is another mark of a capital letter E.
This letter is a year date letter for 1914.
The actual Spoon looks like this...
This Dutch Spoon is one of several Dutch Silver items for sale which you can view by clicking any of the above pictures.
German Hallmarking can be quite difficult at times. However since 1884 all Silver shall have Crown and a Moon struck on all items over .800 fineness.
This delightful German Silver Chamberstick has the following marks on its base.
As you can see the Crown and the Moon are rubbed which often occurs with these types of marks.
To view a selection of our German Silver click on the two pictures above.
The next picture depicts the marks on an Italian Jug. These are difficult to identify. One looks like a crown overstamped upon a tree and the other looks like the letter A1. It has the 800 fineness stamp and an Italian retailers label.
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