Hobbies And Interests
Hallmark
The term "hallmark," also called a "maker's mark," refers to engraved lettering on a piece of silverware. In the 1700s and 1800s, English law required silversmiths to impress a hallmark on their wares so that the buyer could trace a piece of silverware back to its manufacturer. Although no comparable laws existed to regulate the manufacture of silverware in the United States, American silversmiths would frequently include a hallmark on their products. When the word "warranted" appears on a piece of silverware, it appears in the hallmark.
Plated Silver
The term "plated silver" refers to the process of taking a metal of lesser value and covering it with a thin sheen of silver. This process was first used successfully by the Rogers Brothers of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1847. Although electroplated silver appears to be true silverware, it is far less valuable because it contains much less actual silver. Once plated silverware became available on the American market, manufacturers of authentic silverware were under pressure to distinguish their more expensive products from the cheaper, plated variety.
Warranted Silver
In response to the introduction of plated silver in 1847, some silversmiths soon began to include the terms "warranted," "pure coin," or "warranted pure coin" on the hallmarks of their tableware. This mark was meant to assure consumers that they were buying silverware that was melted down from silver coins rather than a base metal that was silver plated. The term "warranted" was generally discontinued in favor of the term "sterling" by 1874.
Warning
Antique collectors should be aware that the designation of "warranted" in the hallmark of an item does not necessarily mean that the item is pure silver. For example, the Raymond Manufacturing Company of Muncie, Indiana, marked its silverware with the hallmark "Solid Silver Yukon Warranted," when its products were merely plated with silver.