How to Identify Antique Silver Hallmarks
Updated October 20, 2026 · 9-minute read
Turn the piece over, find the little cluster of stamped symbols, and read them in order. A fineness mark tells you whether it's solid silver, an assay-office mark tells you where it was tested, a date letter gives you the year, and a maker's mark tells you who made it. Two quick checks before going further: a walking lion (the "lion passant") or the words "STERLING" or "925" mean solid silver, while "EPNS" or "EPBM" mean silverplate.
That's the system in short. The rest of this guide shows you how to decode each mark, and what to do when the marks are worn, foreign or missing. If you'd rather skip the lookup work, photograph the marks and let Antique Snap read them for you in about fifteen seconds.
Where to find the hallmarks
Silversmiths put their marks in fairly predictable places. On flatware (spoons, forks, serving pieces), check the back of the handle, especially near the neck where the handle meets the bowl. On hollowware such as teapots, bowls and candlesticks, turn the piece over and look on the underside near the rim. On jewelry, check clasps, the inside of ring bands and the fittings on brooch pins. The stamps are often tiny and worn. A magnifying glass, or your phone camera zoomed in, is usually what turns "some squiggles" into something you can actually read.
Reading British hallmarks, the most detailed system
Britain has assayed silver for centuries, and its marking system is about as rigorous and decodable as they come. A full British hallmark reads like a short sentence in four parts. If you want a second reference open while you work through a piece, the Goldsmiths' Company has a clear guide on how to trace a historic London hallmark.
The standard mark
The lion passant, a lion walking left with one paw raised, certifies sterling: 92.5% pure silver. Rarer is the figure of Britannia, which marks the higher 95.8% Britannia standard. Find either one and the metal question is settled.
The assay-office mark
A second symbol names the office that tested the piece: a leopard's head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a crown (later a rose) for Sheffield, a castle for Edinburgh. You need to know the office before you can read the date letter. Pieces from smaller offices that closed long ago can also carry a premium with collectors.
The date letter
This is a single letter of the alphabet, changed every year, cycling through typefaces and shield outlines. Matched against the correct office's table, it pins the piece to one year: 1785, rather than "Georgian-ish". The catch is that each office ran its own cycles until 1975, so the same letter "G" means different years in London and Birmingham. That's where decoding by hand gets slow. Birmingham Assay Office keeps an archive of its date letters going back to its opening in 1773, searchable online for a small fee.
The maker's mark
The silversmith's initials in a shaped punch. Work by famous makers such as Hester Bateman and Paul Storr (or Georg Jensen, among the Danes) can sell for several times what an unknown maker's piece brings. That's also why their punches are the most faked marks in the trade.
American, continental and other marks
Outside Britain the systems are looser, but you can still read them. American solid silver usually says so in words: "STERLING" or "925/1000" (roughly from the 1860s on). Earlier American "coin silver" is about 90% pure and often carries only a maker's name. Continental Europe stamps fineness numbers in parts per thousand, such as 925, 835, 830 or 800, and the lower grades are common in German, Dutch and Scandinavian work. France strikes a tiny Minerva head for solid silver. Germany after 1888 used a crescent moon and crown beside the number. Imperial Russia used the zolotnik system, where "84" means roughly 87.5% pure. A useful rule of thumb: a number of 800 or higher, or a national assay symbol, means solid silver; a name on its own means keep checking.
Sterling or silverplate?
Most disappointment with inherited silver comes down to this question, and the marks usually answer it. Silverplate is a thin electroplated layer over base metal. It shows up as EPNS (electroplated nickel silver), EPBM (electroplated Britannia metal), "A1", "quadruple plate", or a company name with no fineness number anywhere on the piece. Older "Sheffield plate" is silver fused over copper. It's collectable in its own right, but it still isn't solid silver. Beyond the marks, look at the high points. On handles, spouts and feet, worn plate shows a yellowish or grey base metal coming through, while solid silver simply polishes brighter. Plated pieces can still be lovely, though their value is decorative rather than bullion, as our guide to what antiques are actually worth explains.
Spotting fake and transposed marks
A genuine hallmark was struck with a steel punch, so the impression is crisp, sharp-edged and pressed into the metal. Cast fakes, made by molding a genuine marked piece, look soft, shallow and slightly raised, a bit like a photocopy of a signature. Also watch for transposed marks: a disc of genuinely hallmarked silver cut from a small damaged piece and soldered into a larger, more valuable forgery. Breathe on the area. The condensation often shows up the solder seam around an inserted mark. Finally, check the mark against the object itself. If a hallmark says 1770 but the style and construction look like 1900, one of them is wrong. The same cross-checking runs through our five-step identification method.
The decoding is mechanical. The looking-up is the slow part.
You can learn everything above in an afternoon. The hours go into reference work: finding the right assay-office table for the date letter, then searching databases of tens of thousands of maker's punches for two worn initials in a lozenge. For one spoon, that's a pleasant evening with a magnifier. For a drawer of inherited silver, it can swallow a whole weekend.
Antique Snap reads the whole cluster from one photo (standard mark, office, date letter and maker) and returns the identification with an estimated value range based on similar pieces currently listed for sale. Each piece takes about fifteen seconds.
Photograph the marks. Skip the reference books.
One clear photo of the hallmark cluster returns the maker, period, origin and an estimated value range. Your first three identifications are free, and there's no sign-up.
How to read a hallmark with one photo
- Shoot the whole piece first, then a close, well-lit shot of the mark cluster. Raking light (light coming in from a low angle) makes worn stamps stand out.
- The AI reads the evidence: the marks themselves, plus the form, style and wear of the piece. A doubtful mark gets checked against the object instead of being taken on faith.
- You get the report: identification, origin, period, rarity class and an estimated value range drawn from comparable pieces listed on Etsy, eBay and at auction houses, with a confidence score attached.
Antique Snap returns AI-generated estimates, not certified appraisals. Value ranges reflect comparable items found on live marketplace listings at the time of the search and are not offers to buy or sell. For insurance, probate or sale, consult a qualified appraiser.
Frequently asked questions
A walking lion, the lion passant, is the British standard mark for sterling silver (92.5% pure). It's the most reassuring mark you can find, because it means the metal was assayed and passed. It appears alongside an assay-office mark, a date letter and the maker's initials, as covered above. You can also get the whole cluster read from one photo.
EPNS means electroplated nickel silver, a thin silver layer over base metal, so it has no bullion value. Well-made or unusual plated pieces still sell as decorative objects, but expect tens of dollars where comparable sterling brings hundreds. Our valuation guide explains how condition and rarity move the number.
Look for a fineness indicator: "STERLING", "925" or a lion passant means solid; EPNS, EPBM, A1 or no fineness mark at all points to plate. Then check the high points. Plate wears through to yellowish or grey base metal on handles, spouts and feet, while solid silver just polishes brighter. A photo of both the piece and its marks in an identifier app settles it fastest.
British assay offices stamped a letter that changed every year, cycling through typefaces and shield shapes. Matched against the right office's table, it dates a piece to a single year. Each office ran its own cycles, though, so decoding one by hand starts with finding the correct table. The broader dating toolkit is in our five-step identification guide.
No. Plenty of genuine silver is unmarked: early American and colonial work, some continental pieces, and items where the marks simply wore away. Unmarked silver is identified by construction, style and wear instead, using the full five-check method. It just needs more evidence before a buyer will pay solid-silver prices.
A drawer full of silver shouldn't cost you a weekend.
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