Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/410

 316 ON THE ASSAY MARKS ON GOLD AND SILVER PLATE. 1701 to 1724 Roman capital A. 1725 1741 small letters a. 1749 1772 Roman capitals. 1773 1796 Ditto ditto. 1797 1816 Ditto ditto. 1817 1836 Roman small letters. 1837 Old English capitals. The arms of Exeter are a castle. At Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the annual letter appears to have been in use from 1700, but the Roman capital is the only character employed till about thirty years ago, when a small letter was adopted. The arms of Newcastle, the distinguishing mark, are three castles. The assay offices of Birmingham and Sheffield being of very recent origin, it will not be necessary to notice them here further than to say, that an anchor is the mark of Birmingham, and a crown that of Sheffield. In Scotland attention was paid at an early period to the fineness of wrought gold and silver, and steps were taken by the Legislature to prevent frauds in the working those metals. For in the reign of King James II., a.d. 1457, a statute was enacted b}'' the Parliament of Scotland, for " the reformation of gold and silver wrought by goldsmiths, and to eschew the deceiving done to the king's lieges, there shall be ordained in each burgh where goldsmiths Avork, one understanding and cunning man of good conscience, who shall be deacon of the craft ; and when work is brought to the goldsmith, and it be gold, he shall give it forth again in work, no worse than eleven grains, and he shall take his work to the deacon of the craft that he may examine that it be as fine as above written, and the said deacon shall set his mark and token thereto, together with the said goldsmith : and if fault be found therein afterwards, the deacon aforesaid and the goldsmith's goods, shall be in escheat to the king, and their lives at the king's will ; and the said deacon shall have to his fee of each ounce weight one penny, and where there is no goldsmith but one in the town, he shall show that work, tokened with his own mark, to the head officers of the town, Avliich shall have a mark in like manner ordained therefore, and shall be set to the said work." In the reign of James III., 24th Feb., 1483, the following