BANKRUPT AND DECEASED SILVERSMITHS

[AG2012]

An unusual question; are there reliable and recorded data what happened to silver after the death of a silversmith.It is virtually impossible to assume the last item in stock was sold and then a silversmith left for a better world. Not every silversmith had family business to be continued after his death. Furthermore, not every silversmith was successful enough to remain in business throughout his life. There is but a little doubt many went bankrupt. There is a sound example on much higher level; Vienna porcelain manufacture, being one of the oldest and the most reputable in Europe, closed and everything was sold at an auction and decorated later elsewhere.
In a word, what happened to silver?
If sold to other silversmiths or retailers, what happened with the marks on silver? Was it sold later with already existing marks, or new marks were struck, either over or beside existing marks? Was there any recorded regulation regarding this? What about duty on silver? It was already paid by the maker, but the new owner could not sell silver made by someone else just like that. Everything said remains within legal frame; we are all aware of ``duty dodgers`` - there is very high probability silver has circulated and the system was abused with items sold by new owners with their marks struck over existing marks.
My humble opinion; this issue deserves attention because of controversial re -struck or multiple marks found so often.We are prone to declare such items as fakes, but in most cases it does not make much sense, at least with re-struck or double-struck marks of not profitable and unknown makers.

[MCB]

Not having the answers to all of the questions posed here are a few thoughts on some of the points raised.
Provided a silversmith’s stock was already fully hallmarked the law on sale of the items is satisfied and further recourse to the assay process is not necessary. An example would be resale today of silverware carrying the mark of a long dead silversmith.
Items not fully hallmarked cannot be legally sold but stock with the appropriate marks carries a higher resale value than without and it would therefore be in the interests of the silversmith who could see the possibility of his business closing down to complete the hallmarking process beforehand.
Sudden death of a silversmith was often followed by a widow registering her own mark at the Assay Office in order to complete the hallmarking process of items in her late husband’s stock further highlighting the effect on resale value of items carrying full marks. The widow, of course, may not have made the item but saw it through the appropriate assay process which is all that was required prior to sale.
Items in stock at cessation of business which had not been hallmarked are strictly not saleable but there was latitude in allowing such items to be moved on provided the new owner had them properly tested by the Assay Office prior to resale. Again the new owner would have an eye to the increased value of a properly hallmarked item. For example well known retailers of silverware did not always make the items they sold but rather bought them in from other makers and completed the submission to assay afterwards with their own mark stamped.
Decoration of items may be completed before or after the assay process subject to certain rules as to alterations.
If an appropriate duty mark is carried no further duty is payable regardless of whether the original maker’s mark has been over-struck.
Bearing in mind that the original purpose of the maker’s mark was for Assay Office use in identification during the assay process the later over-striking of a mark by another registered mark does not seem to have been viewed as a matter of great concern. Should a customer have cause to ask the office to review the standard of silver in an item the over-struck mark would probably have been an acceptable identifier. If the over-struck mark was not one which the office could recognise there were options for insisting the later mark be registered and ultimately the option of deleting the original hallmarks.
In summary the mark on an item of silver does not necessarily identify the original maker nor indeed, where over-struck, the one who originally sent the item for assay.

Mike

[AG2012]

Thanks Mike,
It is much easier to follow circulation of silver within UK with well established and centuries long tradition of assaying. As for Continental silver, agreed on this or not, it seems highly probable silver was over-struck and resold under more obscure circumstances. For example, not directly linked to this, it is well known to me assaying tools simply vanished from the offices during social turbulences.