By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 6 August 2026
What the numbers actually say
The convention is the same across Europe. The number is the fineness in parts per thousand, so 800 is 80 per cent silver and 830 is 83 per cent, with copper making up the rest. British sterling sits above both at 925. None of these is plate. All three are solid silver all the way through and all three are bought by weight.
Where 800 comes from
Germany is the main source. The Reich hallmarking law of 1884 came fully into force on 1 January 1888 and replaced dozens of regional town systems with a single national scheme requiring three things: the national mark, the fineness number and a maker mark. There is no compulsory date letter, which is why German silver is much harder to date than British silver.
The national mark is a crescent moon and an imperial crown struck small and shallow, usually beside the number. 800 was the legal floor rather than the norm, and German makers regularly worked above it: 835 is very common on mid-century flatware, 900 on heavier hollowware, and 925, 935 and 950 turn up on export and fine work. Before 1888 the older Loth system was used, where 13-löthig means roughly 812 parts per thousand.
Italy uses 800 widely, marked with the number alongside a five-pointed star in a hexagonal frame and a numeric province code. Austrian, Egyptian, Middle Eastern and South American silver also appears at 800 with its own national marks.
Where 830 comes from
Denmark and Norway. Scandinavian makers settled on 830 in the later nineteenth century as a workable standard that used less fine silver than sterling, and it stayed dominant well into the twentieth. It is usually stamped 830S, with the letter accompanying the number on silver. Danish pieces also turn up at 826S and, on older work, 813H from the earlier lødig reckoning.
Scandinavian 830S is one of the places where the maker matters more than the metal. Danish and Norwegian studio silver from the recognised workshops trades well above its melt value on the secondhand market, so a marked 830S piece with a designer punch is worth identifying before it is weighed.
Why these pieces never carry a British hallmark
A UK assay office can only mark silver at four standards, set out in Schedule 2 of the Hallmarking Act 1973: 800, 925, 958.4 and 999. 830 is not among them. A Danish 830S coffee pot therefore cannot carry a British 830 fineness punch, and in practice carries its own country marks alone. That is normal and is not a sign of anything wrong.
The UK has been a signatory to the International Convention on Hallmarks since 1972, and articles bearing a Convention hallmark do not have to be re-marked here. Imports assayed in the UK show a numeric fineness rather than a traditional lion. The UK silver hallmarks guide explains how British and imported marks sit side by side.
What 800 and 830 are worth in principle
The arithmetic is the same as for sterling: weight multiplied by fineness gives the fine silver content, valued at the market rate for the day less a margin for assay, refining and handling. Only the multiplier changes.
| Standard | Fine silver | Per gram against sterling |
|---|---|---|
| 925 sterling | 92.5 per cent | Reference |
| 830 Scandinavian | 83.0 per cent | About 10 per cent less |
| 800 continental | 80.0 per cent | About 13.5 per cent less |
Those percentages come from the fineness figures alone and nothing else: 0.925 minus 0.800, divided by 0.925, is 13.5 per cent, and 0.925 minus 0.830, divided by 0.925, is 10.3 per cent. That is metal content only, before any buying margin is applied.
That gap is smaller than most people assume, and it is routinely outweighed by weight. Continental flatware is often heavier in the hand than British equivalents, and a full canteen of German 800 can hold more fine silver than a lighter sterling set of the same piece count. Offers depend on inspection, weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, condition and the market rate on the day.
The plated look-alikes to watch for
This is where continental silver gets genuinely confusing, and it is worth being blunt about it. Silver plating was never subject to assay control in the way solid silver was, and European plating manufacturers stamped their wares with plain numbers of their own choosing. A bare number in a rectangle with no national fineness mark beside it is a manufacturer claim about a plating grade, not a certified fineness.
The test is what sits next to the number. On genuine German solid silver you should find the crescent moon and crown; on Italian, the star in a hexagon with a province code. A number with no national mark, no maker punch and a plating-house name is very likely electroplate. Names that sound like silver but contain none at all, German silver, nickel silver and alpaca among them, are covered on what EPNS means on silver.
How to check a continental piece
- Turn the piece over and look at the foot rim, the back of a spoon stem, or the underside of a handle. Continental marks are often smaller and shallower than British ones.
- Read the number first, then look for the national mark beside it: crescent moon and crown for Germany, star in a hexagon for Italy, an S following the number on Danish and Norwegian work.
- Note any maker punch. On Scandinavian silver in particular the maker can be worth more than the metal.
- Check the high points for rub-through. A warm copper or grey tone showing at a worn edge means plate regardless of what the number says.
- Weigh the whole lot roughly before you contact anyone. With continental cutlery, total weight is the number that decides the outcome.
- Photograph the marks under a single light at a shallow angle and send them before posting anything.
What happens when you post continental silver to us
Parcels are sorted by standard on arrival, XRF-assayed and weighed, and the written offer lists each item with the purity found, the weight and the rate used. Mixed lots are common and cause no difficulty: a drawer holding British sterling, German 800 and Danish 830S is simply valued line by line at three different multipliers. Anything with named-maker or antique value above metal is flagged rather than melted.
Decline the offer and everything comes back by free tracked return. Accept it and payment is by Faster Payments within one working hour of acceptance, usually within 30 minutes during working hours. Parcels travel by Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed and cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used, so heavy canteens are often better split across two parcels. See sell silver by post.
Common questions
Is 800 silver real silver?
Yes. It is solid silver at 80 per cent fineness with copper making up the balance, and it is bought and valued by weight in the same way as sterling.
What does the S mean in 830S?
It accompanies the fineness number on Danish and Norwegian silver and denotes silver. The number is the part that carries the fineness.
Why is there no British hallmark on my German silver?
It was assayed under its own national scheme. UK offices can only mark silver at 800, 925, 958.4 and 999, and imported articles carry their own country marks or a Convention hallmark.
How much less is 800 worth than sterling?
On metal content alone, about 13.5 per cent less per gram, because 80 per cent fineness against 92.5 per cent is a 13.5 per cent reduction in fine silver.
What is the crescent moon and crown mark?
The German national silver mark, introduced by the Reich hallmarking law of 1884 and in force from 1 January 1888. It certifies fineness but names no maker, town or year.
What does 13-löthig mean?
It is the pre-1888 German Loth reckoning, 13 parts in 16, which is roughly 812 parts per thousand fine silver.
Is a plain number on continental cutlery proof of solid silver?
No. Plating manufacturers used plain numbers with no assay behind them. Look for the national fineness mark beside the number before treating a piece as solid.
Do you buy 800 and 830 silver?
Yes, alongside sterling and Britannia. Each standard is assayed and valued at its own fineness, and mixed parcels are itemised line by line.