Silver stamp

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Silver stamps , also silver hallmarks or silver marks , are the imprints stamped with hammer and hallmark on devices and showpieces made of silver , which identify the origin and fineness of the object in question.

properties

A distinction must be made between:

  • The individual mark of the manufacturer (mark of the master, workshop or factory, master’s mark, MZ),
  • The city mark (inspection mark, BZ) actually affixed by a municipal control body, but often also by the manufacturer himself,
  • The hallmark of fineness, which indicates the value of the pure silver content,
  • The year letter, which in some places indicates the year of manufacture in coded form,
  • In addition, various other control and tax stamps,
  • As well as order and model numbers.

The vast majority of German silver handicrafts before 1888 are only marked with city and master marks. The stamping makes it possible today to classify a large part of the historical silver objects locally and chronologically. Trademark directories have been published for a number of countries, art landscapes and cities.

requirements

In most epochs of history, the material value of a silver object of any kind was far higher than the cost share of the work involved in the piece. There has therefore always been a need to stamp precious metals that are the subject of trade in order to identify their authenticity. Coin money originated in ancient times, when the ruler placed his image or symbol on the precious metal (coins, bars) that he brought into circulation in standardized quantities. The mark owes its name to this marking principle. With the emergence of guilds in the Middle Ages, the need for a control system grew to control and guarantee the origin and fineness of the work of gold and silversmiths. This was not only in the interests of the buyers, but also in the interests of the guilds and cities concerned about their reputation and their market.

The German silver hallmark until 1888

The fineness and its test

Common alloy grades
Lot Thousandths Alloy grade
16 1000 Fine silver
958.3 Britannia Silver (New Sterling)
15th 937.5
925 sterling
14th 875
830 Scandinavian standard
13 812.5
800 German minimum fineness from 1888
12 750 Minimum fineness usual around 1800

Pure silver was and is only rarely processed by hand. It is too soft and is therefore alloyed with copper . Because a silver alloy still has a white silver luster up to a proportion of 50% copper, its fineness , i.e. the proportion of pure silver, is not easily recognizable. The system of measurement for silver alloys in the Old Kingdom was a scale of 16 Lot , corresponding to the original weight division of the medieval "Mark Silber".

Direct details of the fineness are less common in older German silver works, only occasionally since the 17th century, occasionally in the 19th century, mostly to emphasize a higher fineness (13 Lot, 14 Lot) than the usual. Some city stamps also show the fineness specified in Lot at certain times (for example Dresden, Vienna, Düsseldorf, Heidelberg, Cologne). In principle, it made sense of the city stamp to guarantee the prescribed (minimum) fineness. See also fineness mark .

To check the fineness, a sample was used , which was already known in antiquity: silver leaves a line with a characteristic color on a matt-cut stone, depending on the degree of alloying. The abrasion of certain silver sticks from a bundle of so-called “test needles” with scaled alloy levels is compared with that of the object to be tested. The cup sample , in which some of the silver to be tested is fused with lead, provides more precise results ; the copper content is transferred to the lead alloy and the remaining silver can be weighed.

Tremolier engraving under a silver beaker by J. Haussner, Nuremberg, 1662

Tremulating stitch

If a sample is taken with a flat stylus, one speaks of a "random sample" and because the stylus is pushed "wobbling" over the silver surface (usually under the bottom of the object to be examined), this trace is also called a "tremulizing stitch" "From it." Tremolo ", trembling). The zigzag-shaped chip that is lifted off is collected with those from other works of the master to be checked in order to get a more measurable amount of material.

City marks (registration marks)

Augsburg hallmarks, some with integrated year letter (selection)

Those who carry out these fineness tests should be inspectors or wardens specially appointed by the guild or the authorities . As proof of their testing, they put a punched stamp, the inspection mark , usually in the form of the city's coat of arms, but also a letter or a certain symbol, on the visible surface or in a hidden place of the piece. The oldest stamp regulation is passed down from Strasbourg (1363), later also in almost all other relevant guild regulations. However, the regular inspection of the fineness was not followed consistently in all places and at all times, even if the juxtaposition of inspection marks (city mark) and master’s mark has been the rule since the early modern times and the craft regulations of the cities regularly proclaim the obligation to inspect. The controls were often lax, and the workshops simply struck their own city hallmark next to their maker's mark. If there is no city mark next to the master’s mark, the work often comes from a small town in which only one or a few masters were active without a guild organization. Works that are light in weight are often not stamped. Even with items from some of the larger cities in Germany, you have to reckon with the fact that the usual stamps are partially or completely missing between the dissolution of the guilds in the first half of the 19th century and the introduction of imperial stamps in 1888.

Example of German silver stamping at the time of the guilds: Keys (= Bremen city brand) and JML (Jacob Müller), around 1690.

Maker's mark

Usually the maker's mark consists of the initials of the workshop owner. They also existed in the 16th century in the form of house brands , as they are also known as the stonemason's mark , and at all times also speaking symbols (e.g. fish for the name Fischer ). Since hallmarks are lost and worn out, several similar marks from the same master can exist at the same time or one after the other. Three or more letters in a sequence of initials do not necessarily indicate several first names, it can also mean the beginning of a syllable. (Example: JHTM = Johann Henrich Tiedemann). Postmarks from the 19th and 20th centuries are cut much more precisely than the older ones and often mention the full name.

Year letters

The year letters, which are so helpful to today's collectors and art historians for dating silver work, originally only served to better control the process of checking the fineness. They complement the city mark , are sometimes integrated into it (Hamburg from 1688, Augsburg from 1734), sometimes stamped with a separate hallmark . From period to period the letters change in alphabetical order and after each cycle a different typography and shield shape was chosen. The periodization of the year letter often corresponds to the term of office of the inspector, so it does not necessarily follow the change of year. In contrast to England and the Netherlands, the year letter is rather unusual in German silver, only in some larger cities it was prescribed in the inspection regulations.

Tax receipt stamp, Prussia, from 1809

Tax stamp

In the German silver hallmarks , re-markings , i.e. subsequently stamped marks for testing, guarantee, verification or tax purposes, are rare, since there is no official fineness test. The best known are the tax receipt stamps with the " FW ", which under the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III. after 1809 were used.

German silver hallmarks from 1888

Scheme of the German silver stamping after 1888. Model number, manufacturer's mark (Koch & Bergfeld Bremen), hallmark 800, as well as imperial stamp: half moon (= silver) and crown (= German Empire)

In the course of the transfer of competencies to the newly established German Reich in 1871 , the stamping regulations were also nationally standardized. From then on, stamps could be used in accordance with the Reich Law. However, there was and is no legal obligation to stamp. Stamping has been optional since then. Furthermore, anyone could and can do the stamping. A qualification is not required. In 1884 an imperial law, which is essentially still in force today, laid down new minimum fineness levels and in 1886 the shape of the stamps. Since then, the two laws together have determined the brand standard of the so-called Reichsstempelung, which came into force in 1888 : The imperial crown ( temple crown ) stands for the German Empire, the crescent for silver, the fineness is given in thousandths and must be "800" or above, a manufacturer's mark of the factory or workshop is mandatory. In addition to these four stamps, a sample or order number was often added if the object came from one of the large (e.g. Bruckmann , Wilkens , Koch & Bergfeld ) silver goods factories that had expanded tremendously between the middle and the end of the century. It can allow conclusions to be drawn about the client and the time of origin. The entire stamping is usually carried out by the manufacturer himself, who acts as a guarantor of the silver content in addition to the seller; an official examination or control did not take place in Germany. The determination of origin becomes confusing in the not so rare cases where an end seller had the name of his jewelry or goldsmith's workshop stamped “ex works” in order to identify the factory-made flaw on the product made with machine help in the silver goods factories but sold by him to conceal. Around the middle of the 19th century, both the production of cutlery and silver carcases were transferred from small craft workshops to factories that produced silverware in series for a supraregional sales market with steam engines, presses, press benches and rollers.

Foreign stamps

For more detailed descriptions, see the corresponding articles in the respective foreign-language Wikipedia encyclopedias. The appropriate links are in the left margin.

Switzerland

The traditional stamping, corresponding to the German one, was changed with the great constitutional reform of 1848, but the implementation was left to the cantons. In 1887 it was standardized nationally and changed again in 1893. The control stamps (Bär for 875, Auerhahn for 800) each contain a letter indicating the canton .

Netherlands

Fineness mark for 934 (1) and 833 silver (2) as well as for smaller works. Netherlands, 1814-1953

In addition to the master and city stamps, the Netherlands has had national uniform fineness guarantee stamps since the 17th century, which guaranteed a silver content of 875/1000 until 1806. Since 1814 a distinction has to be made between two standards, which characterize 833/1000 or 934/1000. The corresponding stamps, changed only slightly in 1953, are still valid today. Year letters have been added since 1810.

England

English silver stamping scheme. Leopard head (
leopards head = London), striding lion ( lion passant = fineness 925 [sterling silver = sterling silver]), Queen Victoria ( duty mark = fee stamp ), year letter K (= 1845). Maker's mark not shown.

Since the 16th century, English silver markings have usually consisted of four, sometimes five neatly juxtaposed single hallmarks: the city mark (e.g. in London the crowned lion's head, leopards head ), the year letter (annually changing in typography and Shield shape), the maker's mark and a purity mark (it distinguishes between two sterling standards: the lion passant , a lion striding from the side, is marked 925/1000; the Britannia , an allegorical female figure seated next to her shield, refers to the new sterling - Fineness of 958/1000 ). From 1784 to 1890 a fifth fee stamp with the profile head of the respective ruler was added to serve as a receipt.

France

In France, too, the brand image of the maker's mark mostly showed the initials of the manufacturer's workshop, supplemented in some places by a city symbol. From 1672 one, from 1681 two control stamps were attached, the corresponding fee collection was leased until 1791. New rules have been in force since 1797: the state took over the fineness test and acknowledged it with the poinçon de titre , which has shown the Minerva since 1838 . Characteristic of these and other French control stamps since that time is their tiny, but precise and modeled drawing. The initials of the manufacturer's mark are now enclosed in a diamond. Overall, the history of French stamping is complicated and confusing, and so far has not been presented completely. A brief summary is hardly possible.

Russia

Until 1899, silver work was stamped with a maker's mark, city mark, often a year letter and usually with the hallmark “84” for 875/1000. The latter had a transverse oval shape from 1899 to 1908 and showed a girl profile above the "84" to the left, from 1908 to 1917 to the right. In 1927 it was replaced by the head of a worker with a headscarf, in 1958 by a star with a hammer and sickle. A fineness of “94” solotniki corresponds to 980/1000.

European Convention

Common Control Mark for 925 silver

An agreement initiated in 1972 by the then EFTA states (“Vienna Convention”, “Hallmarking Convention”) provides for the harmonization of the hallmarking systems of all contracting states. The introduction of a common “Common Control Mark” (CCM) is intended to facilitate international trade in precious metal items. A number of states are included in the treaty, including a. Great Britain, Israel, Poland and the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, but not France and Germany joined. The symbol for silver consists of the fineness number between two scales in a polygonal area. This "common mark" is attached by the respective national control office and supplemented by the mark of this office, a "responsibility mark" (manufacturer mark) and a separate fineness indication.

Brands on silver-plated goods

Stamping a silver-plated fork with 90 g silver plating

The thickness of the silver plating on cutlery and table silver is usually indicated with a stamped numerical value. The number (between 84 and 180) indicates the amount of fine silver in grams applied to a surface of 2400 cm 2 (roughly equivalent to the amount of fine silver used by 12 forks and 12 spoons). The letters EP indicate electroplated silver plating , EPNS means electroplated nickel silver , EPBM means electroplated Britannia metal .

Web links

Wiktionary: Silver stamps  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

literature

Preliminary note: Many popular books on silver contain numerous examples of silver brands. The hallmarks that are only shown in a selection are only useful to a very limited extent for purposes of determination. All the more, only very material-rich brand identification books or special compilations that focus on epochs, locations or regions are suitable for identifying certain manufacturer's marks. However, they mostly only cover the period before industrialization and are often only available in large museum, university and state libraries. There are practically no comprehensive manuals for the 19th and, above all, the 20th century. The term goldsmith in many titles need not be irritating: that is the old job title of the precious metal craftsman. However, the manuals mostly contain only silver brands. A good historical overview, of course without trademark registers, offers:

  • Eva M. Link: Ullstein silver book. An art and cultural history of silver. Ullstein, Berlin a. a. 1968, pp. 262-267.

The main hallmarks of some European countries covered:

The official older regulations of the most important states are referenced:

  • Theodor Alfred Baur: The fineness and hallmarking regulations for precious metals. Edited from official sources from the most important countries in the world. W. Diebener, Leipzig 1927.

Useful for symbols that appear in several city signs (e.g. key, eagle):

  • Helmut Seling, Helga Domdey-Knödler: European city brands that you shouldn't confuse. Typology of old goldsmiths brands. = European town marks. Beck et al. a., Munich 1984, ISBN 3-406-30508-3 .

Determination manuals for German silver brands

  • Marc Rosenberg : The goldsmith's mark. 4 volumes. 3rd, enlarged and illustrated edition. Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, Frankfurt am Main 1922–1928. The basic manual was also published as a reprint. Volumes 1 ( A – C ), 2 ( D – M ) and 3 ( N – Z ) on German cities , volume 4 on hallmarking abroad. The third edition is still the most important reference work for the basics and for many places today. Disadvantage: From around 1800, the previously promising hit rate decreases rapidly.
  • Waltraud Neuwirth : Brand Lexicon for Applied Arts. Volume 1: Germany . Precious and base metals. 1875-1900 . Self-published, Vienna 1978, ISBN 3-900282-05-6 .
  • Reinhard W. Singer: The German silver cutlery . Biedermeier - Historicism - Art Nouveau (1805–1918) . Companies, techniques, designers and decors. Arnold, Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-925369-10-4 , pp. 271-281: Trademark index (at the same time: Bonn, University, dissertation, 1982).
  • Ulrike von Hase: Jewelry in Germany and Austria 1895–1914 . Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Neo-Historicism (= materials on 19th century art. Vol. 24). Prestel, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-7913-0385-6 , pp. 372-477: Trademark index .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler : Goldsmiths in Hesse . Dates, works, signs. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1976, ISBN 3-11-005856-1 .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths in Central and Northeast Germany . From Wernigerode to Lauenburg in Pomerania. Dates, works, signs. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1980, ISBN 3-11-007608-X .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths of Lower Saxony . Dates, works, signs. 2 volumes. De Gruyter, Berlin 1965.
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths Rhineland-Westphalia . Dates, works, signs. 2 volumes. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1973, ISBN 3-11-003842-0 .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths Upper Franconia . Dates, works, signs. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1989, ISBN 3-11-011571-9 .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths of the Ostallgäu (between Iller and Lech). Dates, works, signs. Verlag Kunst und Antiquitäten, Hannover 1981, ISBN 3-921811-12-0 .
  • Horst H. Arians: Smell boxes and small silver from East Friesland , 2nd edition, Aurich 2018 (with lists of masters and brands on p. 444-482).
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths of East Prussia . Dates, works, signs. De Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1983, ISBN 3-11-008900-9 .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldsmiths on the Rhine and Neckar . Dates, works, signs. Preliminary investigation. Verlag Kunst und Antiquitäten, Hannover 1977, ISBN 3-921811-01-5 .
  • Carl Wilhelm Clasen: Rhenish silver brands. The brands and works of the Rhenish goldsmiths. CMZ-Verlag, Rheinbach-Merzbach 1986, ISBN 3-922584-48-9 .
  • Erwin Hintze : Silesian goldsmiths. In: Silesia's prehistory in pictures and writing. NF Vol. 6, 1912, ISSN  0259-7861 , pp. 93-138 and NF Vol. 7, pp. 135-175 (special prints Breslau 1912 and 1916; reprint of the 1912-1916 edition, expanded by a register of persons and trademarks. Zeller, Osnabrück 1979, ISBN 3-535-02431-5 ).
  • Rainer Lemor: Crescent moon and sun. Kassel 2011. Volume 1 The gold and silversmiths industry in Silesia with its factories in the provincial towns 1888-1945. Volume 2 Rainer Lemor, Rainer Sachs: The jewelers, gold- and silversmiths in Breslau 1888-1945.
  • Rainer Lemor, Martin Kügler: Silver from Silesia 1871-1945. Catalog Schlesisches Museum Görlitz. 2010. With manufacturer's marks / stamps!
  • Hubert Stierling : Goldsmith's mark from Altona to Tondern (= the silver jewelry of the North Sea coast. Mainly in Schleswig-Holstein. Vol. 2). Wachholtz, Neumünster 1955 (western Schleswig-Holstein ).
  • Bernt Zeitzschel: The gold and silversmiths in eastern Schleswig-Holstein from Flensburg to Burg on Fehmarn. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1998, ISBN 3-529-06126-3 .

Brand directories for individual cities

  • Helmut Seling: The art of the Augsburg goldsmiths 1529–1868. Masters - Brands - Works. Volume 3: Masters, brands, hallmarks. Beck, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-406-05729-2 and Volume 3, Supplement. Beck, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-406-37807-2 .
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Berlin goldsmiths. Dates, works, signs. Hessling, Berlin 1968.
  • Gerd Spies: Braunschweig goldsmiths. History - works - masters and brands. 3 volumes. Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munich a. a. 1996, ISBN 3-7814-0393-9 .
  • Alfred Löhr: Bremen silver. From the beginnings to Art Nouveau (= booklets of the Focke Museum. No. 59, ZDB -ID 17580-8 ). Bremen State Museum for Art and Cultural History, Bremen 1981.
  • Rainer Lemor, Rainer Sachs: The jewelers, gold and silversmiths in Breslau 1888-1945. Kassel 2011. (Crescent moon and sun. Volume 2.)
  • Erwin Hintze: The Breslau goldsmiths. An archival study. Hiersemann in commission, Breslau 1906.
  • Wolfgang Scheffler: Celler silver. Form guide of a Lower Saxon residential city. Bomann Museum, Celle 1988.
  • Heiner Meininghaus: Goldsmiths Brands: New Research Results . Part 35: Eichstätt. In: Weltkunst. Vol. 70, 2000, ISSN  0043-261X , pp. 1366-1368.
  • Hans Georg Schönfeld: The Eutin goldsmiths. History, dates, works, characters. A contribution to the history of the goldsmith's trade in the Eutin residence from its beginnings to the beginning of the industrial age. Wachholtz, Neumünster 1975, ISBN 3-529-6151-4 .
  • Erich Schliemann, Bernhard Heitmann u. a .: Hamburg's goldsmiths . 3 volumes. Schliemann, Hamburg 1985.
  • Heiner Meininghaus: The Ingolstadt goldsmith's mark. In: Collection sheet of the historical association Ingolstadt. Vol. 105, 1996, 139-153, digitized .
  • Johannes Warncke: The noble smithy in Lübeck and their masters (= publications on the history of the Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck. Bd. 8, ZDB -ID 520795-2 ). M. Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 1927.
  • Björn R. Kommer , Marina Kommer: Lübecker Silber 1781–1871 (= publications on the history of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck. Series B, 3). Schmidt-Römhild, Lübeck 1978, ISBN 3-7950-0049-1 .
  • Sigrid Bösken: The Mainz goldsmiths guild. Your masters and their works from the end of the 15th to the end of the 18th century. (= Contributions to the history of the city of Mainz. Vol. 21, ISSN  0405-1998 ). City library, Mainz 1971 (also: Mainz, university, dissertation, 1969).
  • Karin Teppe (Red.): Nuremberg he goldsmith's art 1541–1868. Volume 1: Masters - Works - Brands. 2 part volumes (Part. 1: Text. Part. 2: Tafeln. ) Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg 2007, ISBN 978-3-936688-17-7 (Part. 1), ISBN 978-3-936688-18-4 (Part . 2).
  • Götz J. Pfeiffer: Goldsmiths in Rotenburg on the Fulda between the 30-year war and the founding of an empire. People, works, contexts. In: All about the Alheimer. Volume 39, 2018, pp. 38-47 (Part 1), and Volume 40, 2019, pp. 15-24 (Part 2).
  • Carl-Wilhelm Clasen: Stader silver. The goldsmith's office in Stade (= individual writings of the Stader Geschichts- und Heimatverein. Vol. 15, ISSN  0585-0037 ). Stader History and Local History Association, Stade 1962.
  • Jens H. Fischer: History of the Weißenfels he goldsmiths. Volume 1: From the beginning to the end of the Duchy of Saxony-Weißenfels. Revised and expanded edition. Self-published, Weißenfels 2006, ISBN 3-00-008775-3 .
  • Waltraud Neuwirth: Lexicon of Viennese gold and silversmiths and their hallmarks. 1867–1922 2 volumes. Self-published, Vienna 1976, ISBN 3-900282-00-5 .
  • Götz J. Pfeiffer: Baroque goldsmiths in Ziegenhain. Johann Christoph Wolff, Johann Michael Pletong and Johann Andreas Siegfried. In: Schwalm yearbook. 2020, pp. 72-78.

Foreign brand manuals

  • Marc Rosenberg: The goldsmith's mark. Volume 4: Abroad and Byzantium. 3rd, enlarged and illustrated edition. Frankfurter Verlags-Anstalt, Frankfurt am Main 1928 (a basic manual, also published as a reprint).
  • Jan Divis: Silver stamps from all over the world . Catalog of silver embossing marks for quick assignment of works of art and everyday objects. 7th edition. Battenberg, Regenstauf 2010, ISBN 978-3-86646-065-2 (trademarks of cities and countries as well as a selection of US workshop brands).
  • Tardy (di: Henri Lengellé): International hallmarks on silver. 5th edition, reprint. Tardy, Paris 2005.
  • R. Stuyck: Belgian notice. = Poinçons d'argenterie belges. Weesp et al. a., Antwerp 1984, ISBN 90-02-14556-X .
  • Christen Anton Bøje: Danske Guld og Sølv Smedemaerker for 1870 ( Politikens Håndbøger. Vol. 53, ZDB -ID 1267117-4 ). 2nd Edition. Politics Forlag, Copenhagen 1962.
  • Judith Banister (Ed.): English Silver Hall-marks. With Lists of English, Scottish and Irish Hall-marks and Makers Marks. Foulsham, London 1970, ISBN 0-572-00674-8 .
  • Arthur Grimwade: London Goldsmiths 1697-1837. Their Marks and Lives from the Original Registers at Goldsmith's Hall and other Sources. 3rd edition. Faber & Faber, London 1990, ISBN 0-571-15238-4 .
  • Charles James Jackson: English Goldsmiths and their Marks. A History of the Goldsmiths and Plate Workers of England, Scotland, and Ireland. 2nd edition, revised and enlarged. Dover Publications, New York NY 1964.
  • Emile Beuque, Marcel Frapsauce: Dictionnaire des Poinçons de maîtres-orfèvres français du 14e siècle à 1838. Auteurs, Paris 1929 (reprint. De Noble, Paris 1964).
  • Henri Nocq: Les poinçons de Paris , repertoire des maîtres-orfèvres de la juridiction de Paris depuis le Moyen Âge jusqu'à la fin du 18e siècle. 5 volumes. H. Floury, Paris 1926-1931.
  • Elias Voet: Nederlandse Goud- en Zilvermerken. 1445-1951. 2e avoiding pressure. Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage 1951 (3rd printed. Ibid. 1963).
  • Christian M. Baur (Ed.): Masters & Brands on Old Sheffield Plate and Electro Plate. (Baur's brand dictionary). ARS-Verlag, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-9814009-5-3 (For English, silver-plated objects from 1743–1936).

Individual evidence

  1. Roland Jaeger: Beschauzeichen , in: Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte , Vol. 2, 1938, Col. 307–316, here Col. 311
  2. Law on the Fineness of Gold and Silver Goods (FeinGehG), issued on July 16, 1884, entered into force on January 1, 1888, last amended on August 31, 2015. FeinGehG
  3. ^ John Bly: Discovering Hallmarks on English Silver, Shire Publ. 2005, p. 3.
  4. Helpful overviews at Rosenberg: The goldsmith's mark. Volume 4: Abroad and Byzantium. 1928, pp. 197-214 and Dombi et al .: Bruckmann's Silber-Lexikon. 1982, pp. 101-104.
  5. http://www.silvercollection.it/hallmarks.html
  6. ^ Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks: Homepage