Help, is this Italian sterling silver cat figure filled?

[kevalie]

Recently acquire a Magrino cat figurine under the impression that it is made of solid sterling silver, but upon further research I am thinking this maybe filled. It's comes with a card which says 'Formatura d'argento 925% Supportata all'interno' which translated to 'Forming silver 925% 'Supported within' I then took a look at the hallmark, which has a unusual mark '15÷20 g' what does it mean. Appreciated the help.





☆ 917 FI

[dognose]

Hi,

What you have is a resin base covered with a layer of silver. To identify such pieces, and so that they are not to be confused with solid silver items, as they do contain a full set of hallmarks, the Italian government require some extra marks to be struck. These extra marks are a 'R' within a square, this stands for 'Riempito' (filled), and also a set of figures that indicate the amount of silver desposited, in grams (1÷2 g, 2÷3 g, 3÷5g, etc.). These are not exact weights, but must fit into range stated by each mark. In your case there is between 15 and 20 grams of silver deposited on the outside of the product.

Trev.

[kevalie]

Thanks for your help, learn something today.