When You Sell Gold Houston Vendors Use Hallmarks To Determine Value

When you go to sell gold Houston buyers look for markings on the pieces called hallmarks.

These markings on the jewelry show 10k, 14k, 417, or 585. Hallmarks are not only found on

jewelry but they are also located on pottery and fine china. These hallmarks are a designator that

gives additional meaning to the source of the item and the value. When working with precious

metals the hallmarks can be found on gold, silver and platinum pieces.

During the Byzantium period the use of jewelry

hallmarks were first introduced, which lasted

somewhere between 306 A.D. and 1450 A.D. The

silver pieces that survived from this period carried a

series of five strikes to identify quality. This early

means of identification assured the public that the

piece was once inspected and approved.

In the late middle ages, most governments took

control of hallmarks on gold and other metals using

authorized assayers. The assayer’s job was to inspect

and to test the precious metals to determine the

quality. As time moved forward, the mark became

known as the master’s mark and bore the initials of the person doing the inspection in addition to

the coat of arms of the goldsmith or silversmith.

France began the first set of rules governing the hallmarking of gold, when the Goldsmith Statute

of 1260 was established. The statute began by covering the marking to be used on silver, but in

1313, it was expanded to cover markings for gold. Before 1313, there were not any specific

standards that could be used to compare the quality of precious metal from one item to another,

therefore if you tried to sell gold Houston vendors would not have been able to determine the

quality.

The markings were emblems used to symbolize trust in the goldsmith or silversmith’s

workmanship and the purity of the metal. In 1300, the king of England passed an ordinance

requiring all items made of silver meet the requirements of sterling silver which was 92.5% pure

silver. The items that meet the 92.5% standard bore the mark of a leopard’s head. In 1327, King

Edward III of England chartered the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths headquartered in

London at Goldsmith’s Hall from which the name “hallmark” was derived. In 1478, a date and

letter marking system was introduced and used.

In 1973, Europeans formed a convention to standardize the hallmarks used. Pieces that were

originally marked by the assayers and found to meet the standards were given a specific mark

known as a Common Control Mark (CCM) indicating the quality of a piece. Hallmarks that are

found on pieces from this time provide the date letter sequence, the marker’s mark, the assayer’s

office, and the fineness.

As for the United States a hallmark system has never been adopted. In 1906, the only

requirement made by the United States was for the piece to bear the fineness marking.

The use of steel punches is how hallmarks are placed on pieces. The marks come in various sizes

to fit the piece at hand. Some items are marked with lasers today. When you sell gold Houston

vendors will immediately look for hallmarks on the pieces to determine the fineness such as 24k

or 14k gold. When you combine this information with the maker, you can learn a great deal of

information about the piece. If you are looking to sell your gold scraps look to see if you can

determine the hallmarks on the pieces.