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100g AG Ingot | London | London

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:
London Assay Office
DESCRIPTION:
100g Ingot - 1969 British Hall-Mark Collection

London Assay – Est. 1300

The practice of hallmark began in 1300, when King Edward II of England required all silver items produced or sold to be tested for purity and then marked with the Crowned Leopard’s Head. This was known as the King’s Mark at the time.

In 1327, King Edward III passed additional legislation that assigned the Wardens of the Goldsmith’s Guild responsible for testing and hallmarking all things silver.

The word Hallmark is derived literally from “the mark of the hall” and refers to the London Goldsmith’s Hall. London silversmiths began presenting their items in the 15th century to the hall for assaying and hallmark application. Today, the London Assay Office is formally known as the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office.

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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