Gold hallmark chart: what 375, 585, 750, 575 and 373 stamps mean

How do you read a UK gold hallmark?

Look for the number. It is the fineness mark, the parts of pure gold per thousand: 375 means 9ct, 585 is 14ct, 750 is 18ct and 916 is 22ct. On a UK hallmark it sits in a rectangle with cut corners, beside the sponsor’s mark and the assay office mark. A hallmark shows the standard when the piece was marked, so GoldPaid XRF-tests every item to confirm what is there now.

Seen a 575 or 373 stamp? Neither is a recognised UK fineness mark: 575 is usually a non-standard or misread 585 (14ct) stamp, often on imported pieces, and 373 is typically a worn or misstruck 375 (9ct). Genuine foreign standards such as 333 (8ct German), 417 (10ct American), 583 (Soviet 14ct) and 875 (21ct Gulf, and also a Soviet silver mark) are explained in what 417, 333, 583, 585 and 875 mean on gold. A rolled gold mark is not a hallmark at all: it indicates a thin layer of gold over base metal, and in every case the XRF assay, not the stamp, settles what the item is actually made of.

A UK assay office can only hallmark gold at the standards listed in Schedule 2 of the Hallmarking Act 1973: 375, 585, 750, 916.6 (struck as 916), 990 and 999. Any other number is a foreign standard, a maker’s own stamp or a misreading. This chart covers the stamps people most often ask about.

Rolled gold marks are explained in more detail in rolled gold vs solid gold. Whatever the stamp says, reading it is only the first step: the metal is then XRF-tested to measure its real purity and weighed, and the offer follows those figures rather than the number.

What is a hallmark, and what does it certify?

You do not need to understand hallmarks to sell with GoldPaid, every item is tested by XRF spectrometry on arrival, so the offer is based on measured fact, not the stamp. But knowing how to read your own marks helps you understand roughly what you have before you post gold for valuation from anywhere in the UK. If you would rather just ask, send a clear photo on WhatsApp and we will talk you through it.

What do the gold fineness numbers mean?

UK gold is marked with its millesimal fineness, the parts of pure gold per thousand. That number maps directly onto the carat (ct) system most people know. The higher the number, the more pure gold the item contains.

GoldPaid values every piece on its confirmed gold content, not on the stamp. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. 9ct and 18ct are long-established British jewellery standards; 14ct was only added in 1932 and is more typical of imported and American pieces. 22ct is widely worn in Indian and Middle Eastern jewellery, and GoldPaid buys 22ct gold and silver from Leicester by post rather than over a counter. 24ct is rarely used for wearable jewellery because it is too soft, and is mostly seen in coins and bars. Whatever the carat, GoldPaid pays for the confirmed gold content; see how we value gold for the exact method.

Which three marks make up a UK hallmark?

A full modern UK hallmark has three compulsory parts, usually stamped in a row, and may carry optional marks beside them.

1. The sponsor’s mark. At least two letters inside a surround, registered by the maker, manufacturer or company that submitted the item for hallmarking. It identifies who is responsible for the piece, not necessarily who designed it.
2. The fineness mark. The number inside a surround whose shape shows the metal: a rectangle with cut corners for gold (375, 585, 750, 916, 990, 999), an oval for silver (800, 925, 958, 999), a house shape with a pointed top for platinum (850, 900, 950, 999), and for palladium (500, 950, 999) three joined circles with one digit in each (a trapezium on marks struck in 2009). This is the purity certification and the part that matters most for value.
3. The assay office mark. A small symbol showing which UK assay office tested the item: a leopard’s head for London, an anchor for Birmingham, a rose for Sheffield, a castle for Edinburgh.

Optional extras include a date letter (a single letter in a shaped shield showing the year of hallmarking) and a traditional fineness symbol: a crown on gold, a lion passant on sterling silver (a lion rampant if marked in Edinburgh), Britannia on 958 silver, an orb on 950 and 999 platinum, and the head of Pallas Athene on palladium. The date letter and these symbols have been optional since 1 January 1999, so a modern piece may not show them, although the Goldsmiths’ Company Assay Office in London still applies the traditional symbol as standard.

How do foreign gold marks compare: India, Italy, Germany, the USA, the Gulf and Turkey?

The practical point for a UK seller: every foreign-marked piece is XRF-tested on arrival, and the offer is set on the assayed content, not the stamp. If the stamp is right, you are paid on it; if it is generous, the figure follows what is actually there. Sources, checked 10 September 2026 (India re-checked 11 September 2026): GOV.UK hallmarking summary (Convention marks); Government of India press releases on BIS hallmarking of 16 June 2021 and 4 March 2023; Camera di Commercio Pistoia-Prato (Italian marks); German Feingehaltsgesetz.

What do silver and platinum marks mean?

Silver, platinum and palladium follow the same millesimal system. The UK silver standards are 800, 925 (sterling), 958 (Britannia) and 999, each in an oval surround.

If your item is stamped EPNS, silver plated, plated or rolled gold, it is not solid precious metal, the precious content is a thin surface layer with little resale value. If you are not sure, send a photo before posting and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth sending.

Where do you find the hallmark on your jewellery?

The marks are small, often less than a millimetre across, so use good light and a magnifying glass or your phone camera’s zoom.

• Rings, on the inside of the band.
• Chains and bracelets, on the clasp, on the small flat tag next to the clasp, or on an end link.
• Earrings, on the post, the butterfly back, or the hook fitting.
• Pendants and lockets, on the bail (the loop the chain passes through) or the back edge.
• Watches, inside the case back, on solid gold or silver cases.

What if there is no hallmark at all?

A missing hallmark does not mean an item is not gold or silver. Plenty of genuine precious-metal items carry no stamp at all, including gold crowns, bridges and inlays, which are cast from dental alloy, never sent for hallmarking, and perfectly legal to sell. The usual reasons a piece is unmarked:

• Pieces below the legal hallmarking weight. The exemption weights and the full UK hallmarking notice set the thresholds out: 1 gram for gold and palladium, 7.78 grams for silver, 0.5 grams for platinum.
• Gold and silver items that can be shown to have been made before 1950, not altered since and of at least the minimum fineness, and pieces where the mark has simply worn away.
• Imported jewellery that was never submitted to a UK assay office.
• Repaired or altered items where the original marked section was removed.

This is why GoldPaid tests every item by XRF spectrometry rather than relying on the stamp. XRF reads the metal at the points tested and, with the weight and a look at wear points and marks, shows whether something is gold, what carat it is and whether it is solid or plated, with no acid and no scratching. You can read more on XRF testing explained.

Why is the hallmark a guide and not the final word?

A UK hallmark confirms the piece met at least the marked standard when an assay office tested it, and a bare number stamped by a maker is only a claim. The metal in a worn piece today can differ:

• Solder at clasp joints and ring sizings is often a lower carat than the body of the item.
• Repairs done over the years may have used mixed alloys.
• Replacement parts, a new clasp, a new earring back, may not match the original.

So your offer is never built from the stamp alone. Each item is XRF-assayed to confirm its purity and weighed, and your written, itemised offer is built from those measured figures. Sometimes the result is slightly below the hallmark; occasionally it is above. Either way, you are paid for exactly what is there. There is never any obligation to accept, and if you decline, your items are returned free of charge by tracked, signed-for post, see what happens if I decline the offer.

How does GoldPaid use your hallmark?

1. Ask first. Tell us what marks you can see, or send a photo on WhatsApp. We will give you a rough estimate before anything leaves your hands.
2. Request a prepaid Royal Mail label. We send a free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label, tracked and signed for. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. Larger lots go on more than one label at no charge. No printer? We send a QR code for the Post Office counter.
3. Post when you are ready. There is no deadline and no pressure.
4. We XRF-assay and weigh each item. The hallmark is checked against the measured purity, so a piece marked 9ct is never paid at an 18ct rate, or the reverse.
5. You see the breakdown and decide. Accept and you are paid by bank transfer; decline and everything comes back to you free of charge.

Which marks mean an item is not solid gold?

Some marks look reassuring but do not mean solid precious metal. It helps to recognise them before you decide what to post:

• Rolled gold, "RG" or "1/20 12ct". A gold layer bonded over a base metal. There is some gold present, but the piece is not solid gold and is not bought as precious metal.
• Gold plated, "GP", "GEP" or "HGE". An electroplated surface layer measured in microns. Not bought as precious metal.
• "Gold filled" or "GF". More gold than plating, but still a bonded layer, not solid gold throughout.
• EPNS and "silver plate". Electroplated nickel silver, a plated finish rather than solid sterling.
• "925" on gold-coloured jewellery. This is sterling silver that has been gold-plated, often called vermeil; it is valued as silver.

If a piece carries one of these marks, send a photo on WhatsApp before posting and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth the trip. For the metal-content side of value, see scrap gold value and the gold price and selling by post.

How do you get from a hallmark to a written offer?

Once you know roughly what your marks mean, the next step is a rough estimate. Send a photo on WhatsApp and we will tell you how we would value the piece, or see how we value gold for the full method. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. To sell, GoldPaid is postal-only: see sell gold by post UK for the route and what happens if you decline. The town pages cover the same steps from one postcode area, for example selling gold from Bradford by post.

Common questions