Identification help, not an appraisal. These tools help you decode marks and decide whether to dig deeper — they never estimate a value or price. For an actual valuation, snap a photo in the app or consult a qualified appraiser.
The common marks that tell you what an antique is made of, where it was assayed or made, and roughly when. Print it or keep it open while you hunt. Identification only — no values here.
| Mark | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Lion Passant | English sterling-silver standard (.925). | Confirms solid sterling silver of English origin — look for a town mark and date letter alongside it. |
| Britannia (seated figure) | Britannia silver standard (.958), higher purity than sterling. | Used 1697–1720 by law, optional after. A seated Britannia figure points to higher-purity English silver. |
| Thistle | Edinburgh sterling standard mark (Scottish silver). | Scottish sterling — usually paired with the Edinburgh castle town mark. |
| Lion Rampant | Glasgow sterling standard mark. | Scottish (Glasgow) sterling silver standard mark. |
| Crowned Harp | Dublin (Irish) sterling standard. | Irish sterling silver, assayed in Dublin; often with a Hibernia figure (duty mark). |
| "925" / ".925" | Sterling silver, expressed as a millesimal fineness. | Common on modern and international sterling. A number stamp rather than a pictorial standard mark. |
| "800" / "835" / "900" | Continental European silver standards, below sterling fineness. | Typical of German, Italian, and other European silver — solid silver but lower purity than .925. |
| "COIN" / "C" | American coin silver (roughly .900). | Points to American silver, generally pre-1860s before 'STERLING' became standard in the US. |
| "STERLING" | Solid sterling silver, word-marked. | Common on American and 20th-century silver. The word (not a pictorial mark) is itself the standard indicator. |
| Mark | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Leopard's Head | London assay office town mark. | Assayed in London. Crowned before 1821, uncrowned after. |
| Anchor | Birmingham assay office town mark (on silver). | Silver assayed in Birmingham (from 1773). On porcelain, an anchor instead suggests Chelsea — see pottery marks. |
| Rose / Crown | Sheffield assay office town mark. | Sheffield used a crown for silver historically, switching to the Yorkshire rose. Sheffield is also the home of 'Sheffield plate'. |
| Castle | Edinburgh assay office town mark. | Edinburgh-assayed silver, usually with the thistle standard mark. |
| Three Wheatsheaves & Sword | Chester assay office town mark. | Chester assay office (closed 1962) — its presence helps date and place a piece. |
| Mark | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| "EPNS" | Electro-Plated Nickel Silver — NOT solid silver. | A thin silver layer over a nickel base. Contains no sterling-level silver; valued as plate, not bullion. |
| "EP" / "EPBM" / "A1" | Electroplate / Electroplated Britannia Metal; 'A1' is a plate quality grade. | All indicate plated ware, not solid silver. 'A1' marks a better grade of plate. |
| Sheffield Plate | Fused silver-on-copper plate (c. 1740s–1840s), pre-electroplating. | Worn high points may show copper 'bleeding' through — a tell of genuine Old Sheffield Plate rather than modern electroplate. |
| Mark | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Crossed Swords | Meissen (Germany) porcelain mark. | Underglaze-blue crossed swords indicate Meissen; many factories imitated it, so cross-check quality and form. |
| Interlaced 'LL' | Sèvres (France) porcelain mark. | A date letter inside the interlaced L's can indicate the year; widely reproduced, so verify. |
| Crown over 'N' | Capodimonte / Naples-style porcelain mark. | Indicates Capodimonte tradition; used by many later makers, so it signals style more than a single factory. |
| Beehive / Shield | Royal Vienna (and imitators) porcelain mark. | An underglaze shield that looks like a beehive when inverted; heavily copied in the 19th century. |
| "England" / country name | Country-of-origin mark required on goods imported to the US. | A bare country name (e.g. 'England') generally means after 1891 (US McKinley Tariff Act). |
| "Made in [country]" | Country-of-origin phrase. | 'Made in …' generally indicates the 20th century (roughly post-1914/1921), later than a bare country name. |
| "Bone China" | A 20th-century body/marketing term. | The printed words 'Bone China' generally point to the 20th century or later. |
| Mark | Meaning | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Diamond (Rd) | British design-registration lozenge, 1842–1883. | The diamond's corner letters/numbers encode the exact registration date — a precise dating tool for this 41-year window. |
| "Rd No." (registered number) | British registered-design number, 1884 onward. | Replaced the diamond in 1884; the number maps to a registration year, helping date later British pieces. |
| "Ltd" / "Limited" | Indicates an incorporated company. | 'Ltd' generally means after 1861, and is common from the 1880s onward — a rough earliest-date clue. |
| "Patent" / "Pat. Pending" | References a patent or pending application. | A patent number can often be looked up to a filing year, giving an earliest-possible date. |
A quick-reference starting point, not an exhaustive catalog — marks vary widely and were frequently imitated. Always corroborate with form, materials, and condition. Identification reference only, not an appraisal.