Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/313

 ON THE ASSAY MARKS ON GOLD AND SILVEl} PLATE. 2.'57 mark of tlic worker or maker, and the mai-ks a])])ointe(l to 1)0 used by tlic assaycrs at York, Exeter, liristol, Cliestcr, Norwich, and Newcastle ; or plate of the standard of 1 1 oz. 10 dwts., with the mark of the worker and the Company's marks, viz. — the Lion's head erased, the figure of Britannia, and the mark or letter to denote the year. A.D. 1784, 24th George III., cap. 53.— By this act there was imposed from December 1st, 1784, an additional duty of 8 shillings per oz. on gold plate, and G pence per oz. on silver plate. It was also enacted that the wardens oi- their Assay master should mark the pieces with a new mark, viz. — the King's head, over and above the several other marks directed by law A.D. 17.98, 38th George III, cap. 69.— By this act gold- smiths were authorised to work gold of 18 carats fineness, which was to be marked with a crown and the figures 1 8 instead of the Lion passant. We now come to the particular consideration of the various marks which are found on British plate. The earliest notice I have found of any authorised mark on plate is the recorded fact that in 1275 Philip le Ilardi, King of France, ordained that each city should have a particular mark of its own for works in silver. The next in order that I find is our statute, passed in 1300, above referred to, with which our own marks begin. The marks which are found on plate made in London, are in their chronological order as follows : — 1. The Leopard's head crowned. 2. The Worker's or Maker's mark. 3. The Annual letter. 4. The Lion passant. 5. The Lion's head erased. Ci. The figure of Britannia. 7. The Sovereign's Head. The Provincial, together with the Scotch and Irish marks, will be noticed hereafter, — and first of THE LEOrARD's HEAD. This mark, as we have seen, was first established by statute in 1300, and in the statute of 1363, it is called the King's Mark. In the translation of the original Nnrnian- VOL. IX. I I