Our Guide to Silver Marks Will Help You Identify Every Piece in Your Collection (2024)

Knowing how to identify real silver will help you determine its value. Most of the time, you can find the information you're looking for by simply taking a closer look at the teaspoon, fish fork, ice cream saw, or cheese scoop you're eyeing. Many of these pieces will feature an indented mark (or a series of marks) that can tell you a lot about the item: what it's made of, where it was made, when, and by whom. To help make silver identification easier, we're sharing a visual guide to some of the most common silver marks you can find in the marketplace today.

The Most Popular Silver Varieties

There are many types of silver, but these are among the most common varieties.

Sterling Silver

Sterling must be at least 92.5 percent silver—the other 7.5 percent is made up of copper alloy, which strengthens silver. This standard was established by the English during the 12th century and later adopted by most of the silver-making world, including the United States in 1868.

Coin Silver

Some of the oldest American silver is coin, which contains at least 89.2 percent of silver if it was made between 1792 to 1837, an amount set by the U.S. Mint after the American Revolution. That number rose to 90 percent in the years after 1837. Many people think of coin as much less valuable than sterling, but it has only about 2 percent less silver and, in some rare cases, may even contain more. Because of its age and beauty, a piece made from coin silver can sometimes be worth more than American sterling.

Silver Plate

Silver plate is a coating of pure silver on a base metal such as copper or nickel silver (an alloy of nickel, copper, and zinc) and was developed later than sterling or coin, but various forms date to the 18th century. Electroplating processes were invented in England in the 1830s and 1840s; this method is still used today.

Hotel Silver

Hotel silver is a form of electroplate that was manufactured for use in trains, on ships, in restaurants, and in hotels. You can dent a sterling sugar bowl very easily—but a similar piece of hotel silver can be dropped without much harm because the underlying base metal is stronger than its silver exterior.

Venetian and Nevada Silver

Certain alloys, referred to as Venetian silver and Nevada silver, consist of nickel and silver. Although they're solid metal rather than plated, they contain less silver than sterling pieces. These lower-grade compounds are less expensive than silver-plated items but don't polish up as easily.

American vs. International Silver Marks

The markings for American vs. international silver vary.

American

Early coin silver made in America was often marked with the maker's name and nothing else (sometimes it doesn't show even that). Eventually, manufacturers also started using the word "coin." But after the Civil War, silversmiths continued to stamp their own names on the back, along with the word "sterling" or the number 92.5 or 925, all of which indicate sterling quality. Some companies used symbols as a commercial logo.For example, The Gorham company's markwas a row of three emblems: a lion (for sterling), an anchor (for its base in Rhode Island), and a "G" (its initial).

Silver plate has its own codes. A wide range of symbols were used by U.S. manufacturers to designate silver plating and solid lower-grade alloys in the marketplace. The maker or company name is usually stamped on the back of the piece, along with an indication that it's plated. In America, these marks are A1, AA, EP, or the full phrases "sterling inlaid", or "silver soldered." According to industry standards, AA has one-third as much silver used in plating as does A1 pieces.

International Silver

International silver marks vary by country. England's system of hallmarks—a variety of official emblems stampedin a row on silverto illustrate its purity—is one of the oldest and most detailed. Laws dating to the 14th centuryestablished strict requirements for marking silver. The first emblem was a crowned lion's head to certify sterling. If you find a lion on your piece, you'll immediately know that it's come from Britain.

Symbols for where it was made include an anchor for Birmingham and a crown for Sheffield (in 1975,it changed to a rose). Another mark is the head of the reigning monarch. You'll also find a letter stamp telling you when the silver piece was made. Each year is assigned one letter of the alphabet, and a new cycle starts with a different font. Until the 1500s, the symbol for the silversmith was often a plant or an animal, suggesting the family name. Today, initials are used.

Common Silver Marks

The images below will help guide you through the most common silver marks you'll find—and how to decipher each of them.