Irish Silver Hallmarks

Hallmarks are authenticating marks struck on most silver items produced or offered for sale in Ireland. Since 1637 the Assay Office in Dublin Castle has been the only body with the authority to perform this task. The marks serve several functions:

• they verify that the item is of the correct quality. In Ireland, sterling silver is not less than 92.5% pure silver, the rest is alloy.
• they give the year of manufacture.
• they record the maker or sponsor of the item.
• where appropriate, they record that duty has been paid on the item.

Below are a few examples and a guide to reading Irish silver hallmarks.

The photo above shows a typical set of antique Irish silver hallmarks.

From left to right, the marks are:

1. JS; this is the maker, John Smyth of Dublin.
2. Lower case "L". This is the stamp for 1856
3. The harp crowned, the purity mark. This shows that the article is sterling silver.
4. Hibernia. Originally this was a tax "for the encouragement of tillage", but after 1806 when Irish silver was struck with the king's head duty mark it became the mark signifying the Dublin Assay Office.
5. The queen's head. This was a duty mark.

Above is a much older set of hallmarks. Unlike the first photo, the marks are not in an orderly line. This is normal. Clockwise from the top left we see the harp crowned (purity), the letter "h" (1727 in this case), and TW for the maker, Thomas Walker. The Hibernia mark was only introduced in 1730, and the monarch's head mark came in in 1806, so we do not expect to see either.

For a piece of this age, these would be considered excellent marks.

Although Dublin was the only official assay office in Ireland, in the 18th century several exceptions occured; at the time the risk of highwaymen stealing the silver was ever present, so silversmiths in certain cities, notably Cork, Galway, Kinsale, Youghal and Waterford, didn't send their wares to Dublin but Instead stamped them themselves

Technically, these are not hallmarks, and as such the items are not legally described as "silver", no matter what they are made of.

The photo above shows typical Cork marks; JN, for John NIcholson, stamped twice, either side of the word "Sterling".