PLATE-MARKS are legal impressions made on articles of gold or silver at the various assay offices, for the purpose of indicating the true value of the metal of which the articles are made. The marks are a series of symbols, which are embossed in a line of about three-quarters of an in. in length, and usually on every separate piece of which an article is composed. These symbols are-1. The maker's own mark or initials. 2. The staudtfrd or assay mark; viz., for gold, a crown, and figures denoting the number of carats fine. This means that pure gold is reckoned at 24 carats, and every part of alloy added reduces that standard number (see CARAT); so that if a piece of gold-plate jewelry is marked with a crown and 18, it indicates that it consists of 18 palls of pure gold, and 6 parts of sonic other metal alloyed with it. Gold of nine carats is now legal, hut as it•is marked by the assay office, there can be no deception, if the public understand the plate-marks. If not, they may pay for pnre gold, relying upon the hall-mark, when they only receive about a third part gold. For a lion passant; Ireland, a harp crowned; Edinburgh, a thistle; Glasgow, a lion rampant. 3. The hall-mark of the district offiee—London, a leopard's head crowned; York, three lions and a cross; Exeter, a castle with two wings; Chester, three•wheat-sheaves or a dagger; Newcastle, three castles; Birmingham, an anchor; Sheffield, a crown; Edinburgh, a castle and lion; Glasgow, a tree, salmon, and ring; Dublin, the figure of Hibernia. 4. The duty-mark,
indicating the payment of duty, viz., the head of the reigning sovereign. 5. Each office has also its alphabetical date-mark. In London, the assay year, which commences on May 30, is indicated by one of the first twenty letters of the alphabet. The Gold smiths' company of London have marked thus: From 1716 to 1756, Roman capital letters.
1756 " 1776, Roman small letters.
" 1776 " 1796, Old English letters.
" 1790 " 1816, Roman capital letters A to U.
" 1816 " 1830, Roman small letters a to u.
" 1836 " 1856, Old English letters a to a • " 1856 " 1870, Small black letters a to u.
" 1876 onwards, Roman capitals, distinguished from former series by shape of shield on which they are imprinted. Thus, eAr s would represent the mark of Elkington's plate made in the year 1874.