Hallmarks: The Secret History of Silver and Gold | From the Middle Ages to Today

Before hallmarks, nobody trusted anybody

Imagine a medieval market. A merchant offers you a ring made of ‘pure silver’. Is it really silver? Or is it copper coated with a thin layer of silver? Or an alloy so diluted that it will turn black on your finger within three weeks?

Without a hallmark, you had no way of knowing.

It is precisely to solve this problem – fraud involving precious metals – that hallmarks exist. And their history is far older, far more political, and far more violent than one might imagine.

The earliest evidence: Byzantium, 4th century

The first documented system for controlling precious metals dates back to the Byzantine Empire. As early as the 4th century AD, official hallmarks were stamped onto silverware to certify its purity. These marks were not yet standardised, but they introduced a fundamental concept: the state guarantees value.

Byzantine artefacts unearthed by archaeologists bear five distinct hallmarks, corresponding to five different standards of control. The imperial bureaucracy was already keeping a watchful eye on silver.

Source: Byzantine Silver Stamps, Smithsonian Institution

Paris, 1260: the first European system

In France, the first text regulating precious metals dates from 1260. It is attributed to Étienne Boileau, provost of the merchants of Paris under Louis IX (Saint Louis). His *Livre des Métiers* codifies the Parisian handcrafted trades, including goldsmiths.

The rule was simple: any object made of precious metal had to be inspected and hallmarked before being sold. Any goldsmith who cheated on the 925 Silver standard was liable to penalties.

This marked the birth of the French guarantee system. It has survived, with numerous developments, to the present day, in the form of the ‘Tête de Minerve’ guarantee.

Source: DGDDI, Hallmarking Rules for Precious Metals for Guarantee

London, 1300: Edward I and the Lion

In England, the guarantee system was established in 1300, during the reign of Edward I. A law required goldsmiths to take their pieces to Goldsmith’s Hall, the headquarters of the goldsmiths’ guild in London, to be inspected.

The English term ‘hallmark’ derives directly from this: ‘hall’ refers to Goldsmith’s Hall, and ‘mark’ is the mark itself. A hallmark is literally ‘the mark of the hall’.

The first official English hallmark was a crowned leopard’s head. The passant lion, now the universal emblem of British silver, did not appear until 1544, and this was no coincidence.

Source: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London, History of Hallmarking

Henry VIII and the great scandal of debased silver

In 1542, Henry VIII of England was facing a major financial crisis. His wars were costly, and his coffers were empty. His solution? The Great Debasement: secretly ordering the Royal Mint to reduce the precious metal content of coins.

Instead of 92.5 per cent pure silver, the coins now contained only 25 per cent. The rest was copper. Henry VIII was nicknamed ‘Old Coppernose’ because his portraits appeared on the shillings, and the copper that first showed through when the coins were rubbed was his nose.

The ensuing economic crisis was severe. Inflation soared. Confidence collapsed.

It was against this backdrop that, in 1544, the ‘passing lion’ – a lion walking with its right forepaw raised – was adopted as the official hallmark to certify that the silver was genuine. It has survived to this day, unchanged.

Source: British Museum, The Great Debasement | Assay Office London, History

France, 1838: the birth of the Minerva

Following the French Revolution and the upheavals of the Napoleonic era, the French hallmarking system was reorganised. In 1838, the new hallmark for French solid silver was officially adopted: the Head of Minerva.

Minerva (Athena in Greek mythology) is the goddess of wisdom, the arts and craftsmanship. Her helmeted head set within an octagon, accompanied by the number ‘1’ denoting the first standard (925 Silver), became the official mark affixed by the French hallmarks offices.

This hallmark is still in use today. Every piece of 925 silver jewellery sold legally in France must bear it.

Source: DGDDI, Precious Metals Guarantees

Portugal and the rabbit’s head (2021)

The Portuguese Assay Office, the Contrastaria, is part of the INCM (Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda). Its history of precious metal assaying dates back several centuries.

What is less well known is that, in 2021, Portugal changed its official hallmark for silver. The old mark (an eagle’s head) was replaced by a rabbit’s head facing left.

Why a rabbit? The choice of animal symbols in European guarantee systems stems from complex heraldic traditions. The rabbit, swift and prolific, was associated in certain traditions with commercial vigilance.

At Honu, every piece of silver is sent to the Contrastaria. This is not a mere formality: it is an independent certification that the metal has been analysed and approved. It is this mark that guarantees the 925 Silver or 950 Silver content of every piece of jewellery handcrafted in our workshop.

Source: Contrastaria / INCM, Assay Office Mark | Official 2024 Hallmarks Poster

The 1972 International Convention: silver without borders

In 1972, a significant milestone for the global Jewellery industry: the International Convention on the Control and Hallmarking of Articles of Precious Metals was signed in Vienna by several European countries.

This convention established a common hallmarking system recognised by the signatory countries. A piece of jewellery hallmarked in Sweden can be sold in Portugal without further testing, provided it bears the convention hallmark (a stylised set of scales accompanied by the fineness in thousandths).

France is not a signatory (it maintains its own system using the Minerva hallmark). Portugal, the United Kingdom and others are signatories.

Source: Organisation of the Vienna Convention (CCM), Hallmarking Convention

Today, a hallmark: a 700-year history

This small symbol engraved on the inside of a ring or on the reverse of a pendant is not merely an administrative formality. It is the result of seven centuries of combating fraud, economic crises, wars, and the determination of honest craftsmen to prove the value of their work.

Each country has developed its own visual language:

• France : The helmeted head of Minerva within an octagon (since 1838)
• United Kingdom : A rampant lion (since 1544, unchanged for 480 years)
• Portugal : Head of a rabbit (since 2021)
• Italy : Hexagon with a five-pointed star and provincial code

A piece of jewellery without a hallmark may still be genuine (very small items are often exempt, such as those weighing less than 30 grams in France). But a piece of jewellery with a hallmark is one that has been tested by an accredited body. This is a guarantee that neither a dealer’s sales pitch nor the glitz of a shop window can replace.

To find out more: How to identify solid silver in jewellery

Discover also why handcrafted forging without casting produces truly unique pieces, or explore our Exceptional Pieces in certified solid silver.