The four assay offices still open
| Assay office | Town mark | Founded |
|---|---|---|
| London | Leopard’s head | 1300 (Goldsmiths’ Company) |
| Edinburgh | Three-towered castle | 1457 (castle mark and date letters from 1681) |
| Birmingham | Anchor | 1773 |
| Sheffield | Rose (formerly a crown for silver) | 1773 |
These four still strike physical and laser hallmarks today. Their town marks are the most reliable confirmation that an item went through a UK assay office.
Closed offices you may still see on older pieces
| Office | Town mark | Closed |
|---|---|---|
| Chester | Wheatsheaf with sword | 1962 |
| Glasgow | Tree, bird, bell and fish | 1964 |
| Newcastle | Three castles | 1884 |
| Exeter | Three towers | 1883 |
| York | Cross and lions | 1858 |
| Dublin (Eire, separate jurisdiction) | Harp crowned | still active for Irish silver |
A Chester wheatsheaf-and-sword mark with a date letter from before 1962, or a Glasgow tree-bird-bell-fish, are good clues to age and provenance. They do not on their own add value, but combined with a sponsor’s mark they can identify a maker worth more than scrap.
Why a town mark matters
The town mark confirms that an independent UK office tested the piece for purity at the time of manufacture. That is why UK silver and gold has an international reputation: the punch is not the maker’s claim, it is a third party’s test. The current system runs under the Hallmarking Act 1973, and it has teeth: it is an offence to describe an unhallmarked item as gold, silver or platinum when selling it in the UK above the exemption weights, 1 g for gold, 7.78 g for silver and 0.5 g for platinum. Below those weights an item can legally be sold unmarked, which is why many lightweight earrings and fine chains carry no hallmark at all yet are perfectly genuine. The town mark is also the first clue an auction specialist uses to date and authenticate a piece, alongside the date letter and sponsor’s mark.
What it does not change
For everyday scrap pricing, the town mark does not change the offer. Birmingham 9ct is the same metal as London 9ct. It starts to matter on older pieces, where the maker’s mark, town and date letter together pin down a particular silversmith. A piece identified that way can be worth well above its metal.
Common questions
How do I read a UK assay office mark?
Look for a small picture-punch alongside the other marks. Anchor = Birmingham, leopard = London, castle = Edinburgh, rose = Sheffield.
Are non-UK marks accepted as hallmarks?
A piece imported from outside the UK and tested by a UK office will carry that office’s town mark plus a numeric purity (e.g. .750, .925). A piece with only a foreign mark is not UK-hallmarked.
Does a closed-office mark mean the piece is fake?
No. Pieces hallmarked at Chester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Exeter or York are genuine, those offices simply no longer operate.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Two quick steps. The label arrives by email, usually within about 30 minutes during working hours. Requesting one commits you to nothing: you get a written offer after the XRF assay, and if you decline, your items come back to you free.
Two things worth knowing before you start, rather than after. Everyone sends a photo of a UK passport or driving licence, whatever the parcel is worth — it applies to every seller, so it is never a comment on you. And the parcel is handed in at a Post Office counter rather than dropped in a postbox: the receipt they give you is the proof of postage any compensation claim depends on.
Would you rather ask a question first, or send a photo? Message us on WhatsApp. It is the fastest way to get a sense of what something is worth before you post anything.