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100g AG Ingot | London | Birmingham

WEIGHT CLASS:
100g
COUNTRY ORIGIN:
Great Britain
SERIAL TYPE:
Absent
SERIAL NUMBER:
Absent
HALLMARK:
Obverse - Top
HALLMARK SHAPE:
Italic Boxed Hallmark
COMPOSITION:
AG
OBTAINABILITY:
Uncommon
EXAMPLE TYPE:
Ingot
COLLECTION:
PRIVATE
COUNTERSTAMP:
Birmingham Assay Office
DESCRIPTION:
100g Ingot - 1969 British Hall-Mark Collection

Birmingham Assay – Est. 1773

British Parliament founded the Birmingham Assay Office through the Hallmarking Act of 1773. The Birmingham Assay Office is the largest assay office in Europe, handling over 12 million assays per year. It has remained in current location since 1887 and has undergone several expansions since. Only 12 Assay Masters have served the office since inception, the longest having served 68 years.

The hallmark of the Birmingham Assay Office is the Anchor. Some records suggest the Birmingham and Sheffield Assay Offices tossed a coin for the hallmarks derived from the sign of “Crown and Anchor” tavern in London, where assay office founder, Matthew Boulton, stayed while petitioning Parliament.

The Engelhard 1969 British Hallmark Collection was produced in London. Complete sets for $79.95 and individual ingots for $22.95 were originally advertised in the October 25, 1969 edition of The Saturday Review. Because these sets were not produced in subsequent years, as originally intended, we believe far fewer sets were produced than the 25,000 estimate mentioned in the advertisement. Sets were originally issued with a special hallmark reference guide, seldom seen today.

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