You have a piece of silver which dates from somewhere between 1773 and 1858. You know it is from Birmingham and the maker's mark is JW - so which one is it? The Birmingham Assay Office's Early Silver Hallmarks, at http://www.theassayoffice.uk.com/esh/ permits searches from four different perspectives.
Its principal usefulness is that it shows the outlines of the punch, the date the mark was registered, the type of silver worker, and - best of all - shows all holders of the same initials. Its principal drawback is that these are not photographic images. But they certainly can be very useful in determining a maker. And it doesn't have a capacity for symbols. It certainly has proved its worth to me, though.
As for JW: the site shows eight different marks for six individual smiths.
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