Scottish silversmith WM

[Granmaa]

Here is a teaspoon assayed in Edinburgh c.1800. Does anyone know who WM is?

Miles



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[Scotprov]

There's a good possibility it is William Mill of Montrose, who was working 1815-25, sent some to Edinburgh for assay, but quite a lot of Provincial items were only partially hallmarked pre-1820.

Richard
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[Granmaa]

Thankyou very much Richard; why didn't he hallmark his items in Montrose?

Miles
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[Scotprov]

By law, all silver was supposed to be assayed at Edinburgh from 1784, and duty of 6d per ounce sent to the Govt. The full story is in Jackson wrt the duty to be paid.
The Scots were not too keen on money going to the Sassenachs, but some of the smiths had some of their wares duty-marked, just in case the Revenuers came round. Duty paid meant that a set of 12 2oz table spoons was 12/- more expensive, and that was a lot of money in those days - more than some were paid in a week.

Richard
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[Granmaa]

That's very interesting Richard; is all provincial Scottish silver technically illegal then? If so, why didn't the authorities crack down on it, as the silver items not only gave away the offenders location but also their name?

Miles
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[Scotprov]

Technically, yes, the most collectable pieces were illegal. The thing was that it was made to order for local people, so it was not displayed. Without the date letter, it was very difficult to say when it was made.
They could have assayed items on show, and sell assayed pieces to anybody they did not know - at the higher prices of course!
If any of the locals realised what was going on, they were not going to shout, they got cheaper pieces, and, more to the Scottish psyche, good Scottish money did not go to the English Government in duty.
Two emminent pluses, with the added difficulty on someone reporting to the Revenuers being victimised and driven out - if they were lucky.

Richard
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