Another Ebay sporran!!!

[rsvpiper]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RARE-ORGIN...#ht_500wt_1413

Looking at the rear of this sporran it just looks way too new to be 1800's any input rabble?

[creagdhubh]

Hmmm...exciting, but not my style.

[RockyR]

It looks 'home made' to me.

[creagdhubh]

It looks 'home made' to me.

***

[AJBryant]

+2


;)

[Chas]

Silver in the UK has hallmarks. Why would they not show pictures - if the hallmarks exist. No hallmarks - not silver!

Regards

Chas

[creagdhubh]

Silver in the UK has hallmarks. Why would they not show pictures - if the hallmarks exist. No hallmarks - not silver!

Regards

Chas

Precisely!

[MacRobert's Reply]

Quite a lot of old Scottish silver has not been hallmarked. Some is not of high enough purity while other pieces are from small rural workshops.

There is no hallmark on this old cantle but it has been tested as silver


Not so sure about this strange sporran.

[Chas]

Quite a lot of old Scottish silver has not been hallmarked. Some is not of high enough purity while other pieces are from small rural workshops. There is no hallmark on this old cantle but it has been tested as silver
.

With all respect, I think you have answered your own question here.

In the United Kingdom (UK), the Hallmarking Act of 1973 makes it an offence to describe as platinum, gold or silver an item which is not hallmarked as appropriate or exempt from hallmarking. In July 2009, following a proposal by the British Hallmarking Council, an amendment to the Act also brought palladium under the hallmarking regime.

The first UK Assay Office was Goldsmiths' Hall, founded around 1300, and where the term "hallmarking" originates, meaning "marked in Goldsmiths' Hall". Since then, there have been ten Assay Offices in the UK.

There are four remaining Assay Offices in the UK:
Current assay offices

London Assay Office
Sheffield Assay Office
Birmingham Assay Office
Edinburgh Assay Office

Historic assay offices

Dublin (now in Ireland)
Exeter (closed 1883)
Chester (closed 1962)
Glasgow (closed 1964)
Newcastle (closed 1884)
Norwich (closed 1702)
York (closed 1857)

If it is not pure enough, it is not silver. To be hallmarked and accepted as silver, there must be a minimum of 925 parts per 1000. This is the law and it operates in Scotland just as well as the rest of the UK. If your cantle is silver (rather than having a silver content), get it assayed.

I will stick with my original assertion - No hallmarks, it's not silver.

If you know of someone who will accept a third party's word that something is silver (rather than seeing official proof), I would like to meet them. I have this bridge that they might be interested in buying...

Regards

Chas

[Tobus]

When I first opened the eBay link, I thought this sporran had fishing lures hanging from the front!