Table of Contents
What does E stand for on silver?
“EPNS”: ELECTRO PLATED NICKEL SILVER.
What do the letters mean on silver?
They include: 1) symbol for the town in which the silver content was certified, called an assay or town mark; 2) symbol for the year of manufacture called the date letter; 4) symbol for the standard mark guaranteeing the silver content. The English silver standard is also 925/1000.
What is the hallmark Epns?
The most common are EPNS (Electro Plated Nickel Silver) and EPBM (Electro Plated Britannia Metal). They identify the metal alloy used as base metal for electro-deposition of silver.
What do hallmarks mean on silver?
purity
A silver object that is to be sold commercially is, in most countries, stamped with one or more silver hallmarks indicating the purity of the silver, the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith, and other (optional) markings to indicate date of manufacture and additional information about the piece. …
What is the hallmark for silver plate?
925
Silver products sometimes may be marked 925, which means that 925 parts per thousand are pure silver. Some jewelry described as ”silver plate” has a layer of silver applied to a base metal. ”Coin silver” is used for compounds that contain 90% pure silver.
Why are there so many hallmarks on British silver?
READING BRITISH SILVER HALLMARKS. The vast majority of English, Scottish and Irish silver produced in the last 500 years is stamped with either 4 or 5 symbols, known as hallmarks. The prime purpose of these marks is to show that the metal of the item upon which they are stamped is of a certain level of purity.
What does the maker’s mark on sterling silver mean?
There are guide books that can help you identify the date mark on most older pieces of sterling silver. The maker’s mark is a series of initials representing the name of the silversmith or company. They are set into a cartouche, usually the same as the other marks, but not always.
How do you tell if sterling silver is a hallmark?
The hallmarks will tell you if the item is sterling silver, what town it was assayed in, the date of assay and the maker’s initials. The symbol for English sterling is a walking lion, or “Lion Passant”. Most countries that live under the reign of the British crown have their own sterling mark, instead of the lion.
What does 900 mean on a sterling silver hallmark?
Answer: You are correct! 900 means that it is a little less that sterling (which is 925), but still considered to be “solid silver”. The AD is the initials of the maker. That marerk is unknown though, as it is not in any of the reference books.