Britannia silver 1988354 213810979 2008-05-20T22:29:09Z Andy Dingley 3606755 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]]