Was less than 925 ever considered sterling?

[ValkyrieVixen]

I couldn't find a general forum to post this in but since I see it in Scandinavian pieces so often I thought I'd start here.

Quite often people list items of less than 925 silver as sterling stating that it is that countries sterling standard. I have never found that fact anywhere. I have seen 830, 800, 900, etc as another countries SILVER standard but not STERLING.
I have also seen it stated on American pieces, when a piece is older, saying that the sterling standard wasn't created till after it was made. From what I've seen the standard was first set in England in the 1700's.

Can anybody clarify this for me?
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[JLDoggett]

The alloy of 925/1000 parts silver and 75/1000 parts alloy is considered an ancient standard. I believe it was in 1327 that the Goldsmith's Guild was chartered under Edward II. At that time the standards were set for the quality/purity of gold and silver used in goods for sale in England. While there is debate over where to word origionated it is agreed that sterling was the name of the standard of sliver alloy was in common used during the 12h century.

As for its use in other countries, I have never seen Sterling legally applied to anything of a lower quality. Even if it were applied through ignorance it could not be sold in many nations today. Here in the U.S. the makring laws are very strict and to sell an incorrectly marked item could lead to major legal difficulties. To read in an ad that something below this standary can be called sterling is, I believe, unethical and illegal.
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[ValkyrieVixen]

I've written to sellers that list 800 or 830, etc as sterling to let them know, many truly have no clue and think any silver is sterling, but some vociferously deny they are wrong and aver that other countries and "continental silver" use less than 925 for sterling.
eBay and the FTC both say it has to be 925 to be called sterling but reported listings aren't pulled. It's frustrating when a factual report is ignored and it perpetuates misinformation.
As you can probably tell it's a major pet peeve of mine. lol
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[Hose_dk]

Quite often people list items of less than 925 silver as sterling stating that it is that countries sterling standard. I have never found that fact anywhere. I have seen 830, 800, 900, etc as another countries SILVER standard but not STERLING.
From what I've seen the standard was first set in England in the 1700's.

Can anybody clarify this for me?

You dont find anyone using sterling (official) unless it is 925. We use the term silver. And we dont care whether it is 750, 800, 826, 830, 925, 950 or whatever. In the old days silver content was important due to the fact that they where a practical place for your savings. Spoons etc should be converted into currency without testing. At that time control was taken seriously.
Today we cherish the craftmanship and beauty - that is more important that the silver value.

1327 is correct.
In Denmark 1429 is the year when standard was set. During the 600 years standard (in Denmark) had been varying between 15½ lødigt (eq 969) to 10lødigt (eq625)
But one cannot say that it is not silver - because it was official standard. But noone ever called it sterling.
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[josstrom]

From what I've read the origin of the word sterling is that the english mint commisioned german experts to come over and help in the manufacture of coins. This would be in the middle ages. And since the germans came from the east they were known in England as "Easterlings". And thus the standard they worked with in minting coins became known as Sterling. However this may be a tale as tall as the next one.
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[SilverSurfer]

Today we cherish the craftmanship and beauty - that is more important that the silver value.

Yes, but the "craftsmanship and beauty" premium, over time, is quite variable, depending on the general state of the economy. This premium, in terms of dollars, is currently deflating quite a bit, much more on the lower end as of yet, but likely to reach higher as the economy weakens. We are coming into a period in which it is a buyer's market if you can afford an amount of aesthetic premium over melt value.

SS
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