---
title: "Silver hallmarks: telling sterling from Britannia, continental silver and plate"
description: "How to read silver hallmarks: the lion passant and 925, Britannia, Scottish and continental marks, the duty mark, and the stamps that mean plate."
canonical: "https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silver-hallmarks-sterling-britannia-and-plate"
published: "2026-09-26"
modified: "2026-09-26"
language: "en-GB"
publisher: "Assaypost"
---

# Silver hallmarks: telling sterling from Britannia, continental silver and plate

Written at the Assaypost bench, checked before publication. Published 26 September 2026.

**The short answer:** Solid silver hallmarked in Britain carries a sponsor's mark, a fineness mark and an assay office mark. On English sterling made before 1999 the fineness is shown by the lion passant, the walking lion; since 1999 the figure 925 in an oval is the compulsory mark and the lion is optional. Britannia silver, 958.4 fine and marked 958, carries a seated figure of Britannia. Continental silver is often 800 fine. Plated ware carries no assay office mark at all: EPNS, EP, A1, Sheffield Plate, a maker's name or a row of shields and letters made to look like hallmarks all mean silver plate, which has no worthwhile silver in it.

## The first question: is there an assay office mark at all?

Before reading anything else on a spoon or a teapot, look for one of the four office marks: a leopard's head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a rose for Sheffield or a castle for Edinburgh. Older pieces may show the mark of an office that has since closed, such as Chester, Exeter, Newcastle, York or Glasgow, and older Sheffield silver shows a crown. If there is an office mark, the piece was sent to an assay office and tested. If there is none, and no Convention scales or recognised foreign assay mark either, the rest of the row, however official it looks, was not put there by anyone who tested it.

That one check sorts most household silver in seconds, because plated ware is common and often well disguised. Victorian and Edwardian platers often struck their own row of little shields with letters, animals or a crown in them, laid out like a hallmark. Most were a maker's house style rather than a forgery, but they were designed to be read quickly, and they still are.

**Marks on silver-coloured ware: which mean silver and which mean plate**

| What you see | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| Lion passant, with an office mark | English sterling silver, 925, tested by an assay office |
| 925 in an oval, with an office mark | Sterling silver, UK hallmarked; the usual form since 1999 |
| Seated Britannia, or 958 in an oval | Britannia silver, finer than sterling |
| 800 in an oval, with an office mark or the Convention scales | Silver at 800 fine, tested |
| A thistle or a lion rampant with a Scottish office mark | Scottish silver: a thistle on older Edinburgh pieces, a lion rampant on Glasgow silver and later Edinburgh sterling |
| STERLING or 925 on its own, no office mark | A maker's claim, often American or imported. Usually right, but untested |
| 800, 830, 835 or 900 on its own, no office mark | A continental maker's claim of fineness; tested before it is relied on |
| EPNS, EP, EPBM, A1, Silver Plate, Sheffield Plate | Silver plate over a base metal. Not solid silver |
| A row of shields with letters, a star, a bird or a crown, and no office mark | Pseudo-hallmarks on plate, not assay marks |
| Made in Sheffield, or a maker's name and nothing else | A place or a maker, not a hallmark. Nearly always plate or steel |

EPNS stands for electroplated nickel silver (the [glossary](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary) lists the other plating marks), and the nickel silver underneath contains no silver at all; it is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc named for its colour. A1 is a plater's quality grade, not a fineness. The [guide to EPNS, A1 and Sheffield plate](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silver-plate-epns-a1-and-sheffield-plate) explains why none of them has silver worth recovering, and the few cases where old Sheffield plate is worth something to a collector instead.

## Sterling: the lion passant, 925, and the marks around them

Sterling silver is at least 925 parts silver in 1,000, and in England it has been shown by the lion passant since 1544, according to the Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office. The lion walks across the field with one forepaw raised. For most of its history it was the standard mark itself; since 1999 the compulsory standard mark has been the figure 925 in an oval, and the lion has continued as an optional traditional mark that many makers still ask for.

On a piece of English sterling from the eighteenth or nineteenth century you would typically expect four or five marks in a row: the maker's initials, the lion passant, the office mark, a date letter, and between 1784 and 1890 a small profile of the sovereign's head. That last one is the duty mark, struck to show that tax had been paid on the plate, and it disappeared when the duty was abolished in 1890. On its own it brackets a piece to that century, which is one of the quickest age checks there is. [Hallmark date letters](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/hallmark-date-letters-how-to-date-silver-and-gold) explains how to read the letter beside it.

Scotland did things differently. The Silver Society notes that older Edinburgh silver carries a thistle as its standard mark and Glasgow silver a lion rampant, the lion standing on its hind legs. The Assay Offices' guidance shows the lion rampant as today's Scottish sterling symbol, so a lion rampant beside a castle is Scottish sterling, not a variant of the English lion.

## Britannia, continental and fine silver

Britannia silver is the higher standard, at least 958.4 parts in 1,000, and its fineness mark reads 958. It was made compulsory in 1697, to stop silversmiths melting the coinage for their raw material, and the Goldsmiths' Company records that the old sterling standard was restored in 1720 with Britannia kept as an alternative. Britannia-standard pieces carry a seated figure of Britannia, and on early London work a lion's head erased, in the heraldic phrase, in place of the leopard's head. A piece marked this way is uncommon and often early, which is a reason to have it looked at rather than a reason to weigh it.

Continental silver is usually a lower standard. Much European silver was made at 800 fine, and some at 830 or 835, so a continental spoon has less silver in it than an English one of the same weight. The UK approves 800 as a standard; it does not approve 830 or 835, so a UK office would mark such a piece 800. If the only mark is a foreign number, it is the maker's claim, and it is checked by testing like any other.

Fine silver, 999, turns up mostly as bars and some modern coins and is rare in household silver. The four UK silver standards, as the assay offices publish them, are 800, 925, 958.4 and 999, and anything under 7.78 g is exempt from hallmarking, which is why small silver charms, thimbles and earrings are so often unmarked.

## Where to find the marks on cutlery, hollowware and small silver

1. **Spoons and forks**: On the back of the stem, usually near the top where the stem widens. Older pieces may have the marks close to the bowl.
2. **Knives**: On the blade or on the collar where the blade meets the handle, if at all. A silver handle is usually loaded with filler and fitted to a steel blade, so the handle is the silver part and not much of it; see the [weighted silver guide](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/weighted-and-loaded-silver).
3. **Teapots, jugs and bowls**: Underneath, or in a line near the rim or the base. A detachable lid may carry some of the marks on its own. A lid with none, on a marked pot, may be a later replacement.
4. **Candlesticks and bases**: On the rim of the base or the top of the stem. Most are loaded with pitch or plaster inside a thin silver skin.
5. **Frames, brushes and dressing-table sets**: On the silver front or border. The backing is wood, card or velvet, and the silver is often very thin.

Tarnish does not hide a mark as much as it seems to; it tends to settle in the recesses and can make the edges easier to see. There is no need to polish anything before photographing it, and polishing an old piece can take off surface and value together. The [guide to cleaning before you sell](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/cleaning-and-polishing-before-you-sell) explains why leaving it alone is usually right.

## Seller risks and exceptions with silver marks

- A hallmark tells you the fineness of the silver, not how much silver there is. Candlesticks, knife handles and some photo frames are mostly filler, backing or steel.
- Pseudo-hallmarks on plate were designed to be mistaken for the real thing. The absence of an assay office mark is what gives them away, not the shape of the other marks.
- A single sterling mark on a large piece of plate is sometimes a marked sterling mount on a plated body, or a marked fragment let into an unmarked piece. The body of the item is what gets tested.
- Worn marks on old spoons can be partly or wholly rubbed away. A mark you cannot read is not a mark that is missing, and testing settles the metal either way.
- American silver is usually stamped STERLING by the maker and carries no assay office mark, because the United States has no hallmarking system of the British kind. That is normal, not suspicious.
- Silver-gilt looks like gold. A gold-coloured cup or spoon hallmarked with a lion or 925 is gilded silver, and it is bought as silver.

## When not to use the scrap route for hallmarked silver

Full sets of old marks are exactly what a silver collector reads. A Britannia-standard piece, anything with a duty mark, a closed office's mark, a recognised maker's initials, or a complete canteen in its original case can each be worth more intact than as metal, sometimes much more. The [guide to antique silverware](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silverware-antique-or-scrap) sets out which pieces should go to a specialist dealer or an auction house before they go anywhere near a refinery.

> **Photograph the marks before you sort the box**
>
> Send close photographs of the marks on WhatsApp or through the [photo estimate](https://assaypost.co.uk/photo-estimate) page, one piece at a time if you can. A person will say which pieces are hallmarked silver, which are plate, and which look old or fine enough to show a specialist first. If you already know what you have, [request a postal pack](https://assaypost.co.uk/postal-pack) and send the lot.

## Questions sellers ask

### How do I know if my silver is sterling or plate?

Look for an assay office mark: a leopard's head, anchor, rose, castle, or on older Sheffield silver a crown. With one, and a lion passant or 925, it is hallmarked sterling. With none, and letters such as EPNS, EP or A1, it is plate. A bare STERLING or 925 stamp is a maker's claim that is usually right and is confirmed by testing.

### What does the lion on silver mean?

A walking lion with one paw raised, the lion passant, is the English mark for sterling silver, 925 fine. A lion standing on its hind legs, the lion rampant, is the Scottish equivalent on Glasgow silver and later Edinburgh sterling. Neither appears on plate unless as part of a plater's imitation row, which will have no assay office mark beside it.

### Is 800 silver real silver?

Yes. 800 means at least 800 parts silver in 1,000. It is common on continental silver and is an approved UK standard. It holds less silver than sterling for the same weight, and a bare 800 stamp is confirmed by testing like any other maker's mark.

### Is EPNS worth anything?

Not as silver. EPNS is electroplated nickel silver: a thin silver coating over an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that contains no silver. Some older or better-made plated pieces have a modest decorative value to a buyer of plate, but there is nothing in them for a precious-metals buyer.

### What is the small head among the marks on old silver?

Probably the duty mark: a profile of the reigning sovereign struck between 1784 and 1890 to show that duty had been paid. It dates the piece to that period and is a good reason to have it looked at before it is treated as metal.

### My silver spoon has no marks. Can it be silver?

Yes. Silver articles under 7.78 g are exempt from hallmarking, and marks on old spoons wear away. An unmarked piece is identified by testing, not by what is or is not stamped on it.

## Sources

1. [Assay Offices of Great Britain — Hallmarking guidance notes (November 2022): approved silver finenesses, the Scottish lion rampant and the 7.78 g exemption](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63a333b9d3bf7f37654767e0/hallmarking-guidance-notes.pdf) (accessed 26 September 2026)
2. [The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office — History of hallmarking: lion passant 1544, Britannia 1697 to 1720, duty mark 1784 to 1890](https://www.assayofficelondon.co.uk/about-us/history-of-hallmarking) (accessed 26 September 2026)
3. [The Silver Society — Identify your silver: Scottish standard marks, Britannia standard, duty and import marks](https://www.thesilversociety.org/research/identify-your-silver/) (accessed 26 September 2026)
4. [Sheffield Assay Office — A detailed history: the crown for silver and the change to the rose](https://www.assayoffice.co.uk/about-us/history) (accessed 26 September 2026)
5. [Birmingham Assay Office — Silver assay and hallmarking](https://www.theassayoffice.co.uk/our-services/hallmarking/silver-assay-and-hallmarking/) (accessed 26 September 2026)

## Related

- [Reading UK hallmarks on gold, silver, platinum and palladium](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/uk-hallmarks-and-fineness-guide)
- [Silver plate: EPNS, A1, EPBM and Sheffield plate, and what each is worth](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silver-plate-epns-a1-and-sheffield-plate)
- [Antique silver or scrap silver, and how to tell the difference](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/silverware-antique-or-scrap)
- [Hallmark date letters: how to date a piece of silver or gold from its marks](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/hallmark-date-letters-how-to-date-silver-and-gold)
- [Weighted and loaded silver: why candlesticks, trophies and knife handles weigh more than their silver](https://assaypost.co.uk/guides/weighted-and-loaded-silver)
- [Sell silver](https://assaypost.co.uk/sell-silver)
- [Glossary](https://assaypost.co.uk/glossary)

## Start with photographs

- [Send a photo on WhatsApp](https://wa.me/447369296063?text=Hello.%20I've%20been%20reading%20your%20guides%20and%20I've%20got%20some%20pieces%20I%20can't%20identify.%20Sending%20photos%20now.)
- [Request a prepaid label](https://assaypost.co.uk/postal-pack)
- Telephone [07369 296063](tel:+447369296063), 6am to 10pm, seven days a week