York Date Letter Chart Accuracy

[swarhurst]

Hi

I have noticed that the date letters on the York chart (page http://www.925-1000.com/dlc_york.html) differ, in parts, from other online references.

For example, if you compare the chart to these:

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Looking at say 1691 is an 'N' on here but a 'k' on those other resources.

Does anyone know which is the correct one? WHat is the source of the charts on here?

Thanks
Spencer

[silvermakersmarks]

Of my two pocket references Jackson's Hallmarks Pocket Edition has the "N" and Bradbury's Book of Hallmarks has the "K". The differences seem to arise during the 1631-1654 (2 years out) and the 1655-1678 (1 extra year out) cycles.

[dognose]

Hi Spencer,

Welcome to the Forum.

To my knowledge, but I would love to proved wrong, there is no known surviving record of the date letter system used during the first period of the York assay office. The date letter references that have been compiled by various authors thus contain a varying degree of conjecture, the date letters being noted from known examples and compared with the known working periods of the silversmiths, inscriptions, references in documentation etc.

Do you possess an example of York silver from that period? If so, we would be delighted to see some images of the item on the forum.

Trev.

[swarhurst]

OK, thanks for the information. I don't have a piece of York silver myself, I just happened to notice when swatting up on the different town marks.