Britannia silver
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2008-05-20T22:29:09Z
Andy Dingley
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new cat.
'''Britannia silver''' is an [[alloy]] of [[silver]] containing 95.84% silver, with the balance usually [[copper]].
This standard was introduced in [[England]] by Act of Parliament in [[1697]] to replace [[sterling silver]] as the obligatory standard for items of "wrought plate". The lion passant gardant [[hallmark]] denoting sterling was replaced with "the figure of a woman commonly called [[Britannia]]", and the leopard's head mark of the [[Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths]] replaced with a "lion's head erased".
Britannia standard silver was introduced by the British government as part of the great recoinage scheme of [[William III of England|William III]] from [[1696]], when attempts were made to limit the clipping and melting of sterling silver coinage. It was thought that by maintaining a higher standard for plate, there would be less incentive to put the newly issued sterling coins in the melting pot.
[[Image:Waiter 1732 LA.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Waiter of 1732, with Britannia gauge mark]]
Sterling silver was approved again for use by silversmiths from [[1 June]] [[1720]], and thereafter Britannia silver has remained an optional standard for silver assay in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Ireland]]. Since the hallmarking changes of [[1 January]] [[1999]], Britannia silver has been denoted by the [[millesimal fineness]] hallmark '''958''', with the symbol of Britannia being applied optionally.
The silver [[bullion]] coins of the [[Royal Mint]] issued since [[1998]], known as "[[Britannia coin|Britannias]]" for their reverse image, are minted in Britannia standard silver.
Britannia silver should be distinguished from [[Britannia metal]], a pewter-like alloy containing no silver.
[[Category:Silversmithing]]
[[Category:Silver]]
[[Category:Alloys]]
[[Category:Precious metal alloys]]