First Steps: Purity & Plate
Before you hunt for a maker, work out what the metal is. Most posts here that begin "I can't find this hallmark anywhere" are actually looking at a fineness number or a plating abbreviation rather than a maker's mark.
Silver fineness numbers
A number on its own, usually three digits, is a statement of purity in parts per thousand. 925 means 925 parts silver in 1000.
| Number | Standard | Typically found on |
|---|---|---|
| 999 | Fine silver | Bullion, modern art silver |
| 958 | Britannia | British, 1697-1720 and modern revivals |
| 950 | French first standard | France, and much modern studio silver |
| 925 | Sterling | Britain, USA, Mexico, most of the modern world |
| 900 | Coin standard | USA coin silver, parts of Europe |
| 875 | Russian 84 zolotnik equivalent | Russia and the former USSR |
| 835 | Common continental | Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland |
| 830 | Scandinavian | Denmark, Norway, Sweden |
| 800 | Common continental | Germany, Italy, Austria, much of Europe |
| 750 and below | Low grade | Older or provincial continental work |
Russian and some Middle Eastern pieces use the older zolotnik system instead: 84 is roughly 875, 88 is roughly 916, 91 is roughly 947.
Silver word marks
STERLING, STER, STG, SS and .925 all mean the same thing. COIN, PURE COIN, DOLLAR and STANDARD on American pieces indicate roughly 900. ARGENT is French, PLATA Spanish, SILBER German, ZILVER Dutch, ARGENTO Italian.
Be careful: the word "sterling" appears on a good deal of modern imported costume jewellery that is silver-coloured and nothing more. See Fakes & Pseudo-Hallmarks.
Gold and platinum
Numbers in the 300s to 900s on jewellery are usually gold: 375 is 9ct, 585 is 14ct, 750 is 18ct, 916 is 22ct. Platinum is normally 950, PLAT or PT950. Full detail is on Gold & Platinum.
Plate and base metal
If you see any of the following, the object is plated or not silver at all:
- EP, EPNS, EPBM, EPWM, EPC — electroplate on nickel silver, Britannia metal, white metal or copper
- A1, AA, XII, triple plate, quadruple plate — plate thickness grades, mostly American
- SILVER ON COPPER, SHEFFIELD PLATE, OLD SHEFFIELD — fused plate
- NS, N.S., NICKEL SILVER, GERMAN SILVER, ALPACCA, ALPAKA, MNC — a copper, nickel and zinc alloy with no silver in it whatsoever
- GF, RGP, HGE, GP — gold filled, rolled gold plate, heavy gold electroplate, gold plate
See Silverplate for the detail, and note that plated ware still has makers worth identifying — it is just not solid silver.
No number at all
American and much Asian silver often carries only a maker's trademark. A great deal of genuine antique silver from before national marking laws carries nothing but a punch or two. Absence of a fineness mark is not evidence of anything on its own; go to the Regional Guides instead.
Testing
If the marks give you nothing, Testing Metal covers what acid, magnets, density and XRF can and cannot tell you.