Details of British Import Marks and Related Information

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Details of British Import Marks and Related Information

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A topic for providing additional details regarding English, Scottish and Irish import marks applied to Foreign made items of precious metal.

British Import Marks on Foreign Made Silver
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Source: Statutory Rules and Orders Other Than Those of a Local, Personal, Or Temporary Character - H.M. Stationery Office - 1904

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MARKS REQUIRED BY LAW. Certain goods are required by law to be marked, in order that the character of the goods or their quality may be clearly indicated. Gold and Silver Plate must be submitted for assay and marked.

ASSAY. Gold and silver plate (including watches and watch cases) is liable to assay on importation into the United Kingdom, for the purpose of determining the proportion of pure metal. Such goods must be entered to be warehoused on Form No. 108 (Sale) for watches and watch cases, and Form No. 46 (Sale) for other goods, and removed under a Customs bond to an Assay Office to be assayed, stamped, and marked—Revenue Act, 1883, sec. 10.

The Assay Offices are situated at London, Birmingham, Chester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Dublin.

The Assay of Imported Plate is regulated by the Hall-Marking of Foreign Plate Act, 1904, and the Order in Council of 11th May, 1906.—S.R. and 0., N0. 386.

A similar Order (S.R. and 0., N0. 384, 1907) regulates the marking of watch cases. The origin of the watch cases must be formally declared in accordance with the Merchandise Marks Act, 1887, sec. 8. (See p. 420.)

The following goods are exempt from assay:

(1) Plate imported for private use and not for sale or exchange. A Statutory Declaration must be made on Form No. 56 (Sale).— Revenue Act, 1883, sec. 10.

(2) Oriental plate “ properly described as hand-chased, inlaid, bronzed or filigree work " on authority given by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise—Revenue Act, 1884, sec. 4.

(3) Ornamental plate of foreign manufacture made prior to the year 1800.

(4) Certain small articles of plate, too small to be marked, enumerated in the Silver Plate Act of 1790, and allowed by the Customs Act, 1842.

(5) Samples admitted under the regulations governing the temporary admission under bond of Commercial Travellers' Samples.



Source: Import and Export Trade: Law and Customs Procedure - A. S. Harvey - 1922

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A copy of the declaration required when imported watchcases were submitted for assay:

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A copy of the H.M. Customs and Excise declaration form required when importing precious metal items for private use:

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An example of a London import mark from 1927, sponsor, George Stockwell:

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GS - London - ·925 - 1927

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Re: Details of British Import Marks

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An example of a London import mark from 1893-4, sponsor, Liberty & Co.:

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Ly & Co - London - 1893

In this case we can define the date to between 8th February 1894 (Liberty's date of registration) and 30th May 1894 (change of date letter).

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An example of a London import mark from 1927, sponsor, F.B. Reynolds:

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F.B.R - London - ·925 - 1927

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An example of a London import mark from 1904, sponsor, John George Piddington:

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JGP - London - ·925 - 1904

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An example of a Chester import mark from 1903, sponsor, A. & M. Cohen :

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A & M.C - Chester - 1903

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An example of a Birmingham import mark from 1967, sponsor, Terry & Co. :

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T & Co - ·925 - Birmingham - 1967

Note the cartouche shape on the date mark as compared with those used on home produced items.

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An example of a Birmingham import mark from 1911, sponsor, Ludwig Krumm (probably) :

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L.K - ·925 - Birmingham - 1911

Note the cartouche shape on the date mark as compared with those used on home produced items.

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An example of a London import mark from 1925, sponsor, George Stockwell:

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GS - London - ·925 - 1925

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An example of a Chester import mark from 1903, sponsor, Maurice Freeman:

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MF - Chester - ·925 - 1904

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The relevant parts of the Revenue Act, 1883, that refer to the importation of gold and silver wares :

10. And whereas by the statutes now in force relating to gold and silver wares, it is enacted and provided that gold and silver plate, not being battered, which shall be imported into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and sold, exchanged, or exposed to sale within the said United Kingdom, shall be of the respective standards now required for any ware, vessel, plate, or manufacture of gold or silver wrought or made in England; and that no gold or silver plate so imported as aforesaid, not being battered, shall be sold, exchanged, or exposed to sale within the said United Kingdom, until the same shall have been assayed, stamped, and marked, either in England, Scotland, or Ireland, in the same manner as any ware, vessel, plate, or manufacture of gold or silver wrought or made in England, Scotland, or Ireland respectively, is or are now by law required to be assayed, stamped, and marked. And that in order that gold and silver plate so imported as aforesaid may be assayed, stamped, and marked, it shall and may be lawful for any person to send the same to any assay office in the United Kingdom at which gold and silver plate is now by law required to be assayed, and when so sent it shall be assayed, tested, stamped, and marked in such and the same manner as if the same were British plate by law assayable in such office, but with the addition of the letter F, and that if any gold or silver plate so imported as aforesaid and so sent to any such assay office as aforesaid, shall on being assayed at such assay office be found or discovered to be of coarser alloy than the said respective standards, such gold or silver ware shall be cut, broken, and defaced at such assay office.

And whereas it is desirable to secure with more certainty the marking of all gold and silver plate of standard quality imported into Great Britain or Ireland to be sold, exchanged, or exposed for sale, and also to make provision for allowing tho exportation of imported plate of coarser alloy than the said respective standards:

Be it enacted,—

1. That all gold and silver plate imported into Great Britain or Ireland shall be entered to be warehoused, and shall be deposited in a bonded warehouse, and no such plate shall be delivered for home use until assayed, stamped, and marked according to law.

2. That for the purpose of assay, such plate may upon such notice to the proper officer of customs, upon such security for the payment of duty, and subject to such regulations as the Commissioners of Customs may from time to time prescribe, be removed from the warehouse in charge of an officer of customs by the importer and at his risk, to, and be delivered into the hands of the officers of the assay office nearest to the port of importation.

3. That upon previous payment by the importer of the expense of assay, the officer of the assay office shall assay the plate and shall give notice of the result of such assay to the proper officer of customs, and to the importer.

4. If such plate shall be found upon assay to be of standard quality, it may thereupon be cleared for home use, and the officer of the assay office upon production of a certificate from the proper officer of customs that the duty and all proper charges have been paid, shall stamp, mark, and deliver the plate to the importer.

5. If such plate shall be found upon assay not to be of standard quality, it shall not be cut, broken, or defaced at the assay office, but shall, upon such notice and under such regulations as the Commissioners of Customs shall from time to time prescribe, be removed from the assay office in charge of an officer of customs by the importer and at his risk, and be returned to the warehouse.

6. All plate returned to the warehouse after assay may within one month from such return be exported by the importer under such conditions and upon such security as are proscribed by the Customs Laws in relation to the exportation of warehoused goods.

7. After the expiration of one month from the return of any plate to the warehouse, or sooner if the importer shall desire it, any part thereof not exported shall be cut, broken, and defaced by the proper officer of customs, and shall be delivered free of duty upon payment of all proper charges.

8. Actual deposit of plate in a warehouse under this section may, with the approval of the Commissioners of Customs, be dispensed with in cases in which the plate can be and is removed direct from the place of examination to the assay office, but plate so removed direct shall, nevertheless, for the purposes of this section be deemed to have been actually deposited.

9. The notice from the officer of the assay office of the result of the assay above referred to in this section shall be a notice prescribed by the Commissioners of Customs, and as regards the importer, shall be posted to an address to be stated by him on depositing his plate at the assay office.

10. In this section the words "proper charges" shall mean all such charges as the Commissioners of Customs, with the approval of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall make for attendance of officers or otherwise. Where plate is removed to an assay office in pursuance of this section, within one month after entry, the rates for warehousing under the Customs Tariff Act, 1876, shall not be charged.

11. Articles of plate exempted from assay in the United Kingdom are not subject to the provisions of this section.

12. Plate imported for private use and not for sale shall also be exempted upon proof by statutory declaration referring to this section being furnished to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs that such plate is not intended for sale or exchange.

13. But in case any such plate shall at any time thereafter be taken to an assay office to be assayed, and shall be found upon assay not to be of standard quality, such plate shall be deemed to be plate removed from a warehouse for assay under this section, and shall be dealt with accordingly. Plate taken to be assayed under this sub-section shall be identified to the satisfaction /of the proper officer of the assay office.

11. This part of this Act shall be construed an one with the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876.


Source: The Law Journal Reports - 1883

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An example of a London import mark from 1905, sponsor, Fredericks Ltd. (Robert Friederich):

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RF - London - 925 - 1905

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An example of a Birmingham import mark from 1991, sponsor, Robbe & Berking :

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An example of a London import mark from 1904, sponsor, Theodor Hartmann:

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TH - 1904 - F - London

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An example of a London import mark from 1925, sponsor, Baume & Co. (Arthur Baume):

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AB - ·925 - London - 1925

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With regard to foreign plate, the following is the process adopted, according to the Parliamentary paper above named. The plate is brought to Goldsmiths' Hall during business hours in securely-fastened cases (often of considerable size), in the custody of a Custom House official, to whom the Assay officer must grant a formal receipt. The cases are then opened, the contents weighed and sorted, each parcel being treated on its merits, so that the whole consignment may not be condemned for a defect in any single lot. The Assay officer prepares two lists of the articles, with the weights and prices marked against each, and then he proceeds to make a report in detail, after assay, of the various separate packets into which the contents of the case have been divided. His next duty is to place upon each article the name-mark of the importer. If the plate is "proved" of standard, it is reweighed and repacked for delivery to the importer. If it is "proved" below standard, it is repacked, and redelivered to the Customs, under seal. The cost of assaying and marking foreign plate includes all these and a number of supplemental services, and averages about 2½d. per oz. Practically the whole of the foreign plate imported into this country is dealt with at the London Hall.

The following are the marks placed on foreign watch cases :—London, a full moon with rays; Birmingham, an equilateral triangle ; Chester, an acorn with two leaves; Sheffield, crossed arrows; Edinburgh, St. Andrew's Cross; Glasgow, a bishop's mitre; Dublin, a shamrock.


Source: Cassell's Family Magazine - 1894

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