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Author	Topic: britannia standard
francescabocce Posts: 10 Registered: Feb 2004	posted 09-20-2004 01:39 PM Hello! I ask this question before in regular forum but do not receive answer so I try here!! I am confused with Britannia standard. I read that the title is 11 troy ounce, 10 dwt. of pure silver per troy pound. When I make conversion like below, I believe it become 958,3/1000. But I read in some book and hear from other people that Britannia is 958,4/1000. I am not good to make math so maybe I make mistake but do not understand why. 11troy ounce, 10dwt = 229.9982 troy pound (12 troy ounce = 239.9981 229.9982 / 239.9981 = .9583334201, that I understand 958.3 Can you explain? Thank you!!! Francesca IP: Logged
Silver Lyon Posts: 363 Registered: Oct 2004	posted 11-23-2004 07:21 AM As nobody else has attempted to answer, I will try to - but stress that the following is my interpretation!: ALL standards are minimum levels of purity and the marks indicate that a pices is AT LEAST that purity of silver. A good example of this is a fork I have with a London sterling mark for 1790 and a French import mark indicating that it is at least .950 - nothing strange about that - if it was between .925 and .958(3) it could ONLY be marked sterling - indeed in the late Georgian period, the Britannia marks, although available, are seldom used. A silversmith reusing old pieces, melted by himself, could easily incorporate some Britannia Standard into his pot and thus increase the general purity of his metal to above the required sterling. Your calculations are correct, but remember that in 1697 (an indeed until fairly recently) it was not possible to be accurate to so many decimal places!! [This message has been edited by Silver Lyon (edited 11-23-2004).] IP: Logged
agleopar Posts: 850 Registered: Jun 2004	posted 11-26-2004 02:52 PM Silver Lyon has, as usual, has summed up the important issue in assay/hallmarking. The current marks used by England, I think, use 958 and leave off the .4 which was used post the1973 Hallmarking act ? Does anybody know? One old book I have ("Metalwork and Enamelling", Herbert Maryon, 1912, mine is a 1971 Dover reprint [ the best book on silversmithing techniques!]) gives the New Sterling or Britannia Standard as 959...(10 parts alloy to 230 part fine silver or 11 oz. 10 dwt. fine to 10dwt. alloy) IP: Logged
Silver Lyon Posts: 363 Registered: Oct 2004	posted 12-01-2004 06:37 AM I forgot to add that this is, of course, 23 carat !! Try doing the math! IP: Logged

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