Chester hallmark date letters
Short answer
Chester date letters cover 1839 to 1962. Before 1975 a letter marks the year from July to July; the cycles below give each letter's year by its shape (case and typeface).
Chester: cycles before 1975
| Years | Letters in order | Style | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1839–1864 | ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase gothic | |
| 1864–1884 | abcdefghiklmnopqrstu | lowercase gothic | |
| 1884–1901 | ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQR | uppercase roman | |
| 1901–1926 | ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase cursive | The letter often appears lying on its side. |
| 1926–1951 | ABCDEFGHJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase gothic | |
| 1951–1963 | ABCDEFGHJKLM | uppercase sans-serif | The office closed on 24-8-1962. |
Look up one letter
Other offices
London · Birmingham · Sheffield · Edinburgh · Glasgow
Frequently asked
How do I read a Chester hallmark date letter?
Find the letter's shape (case and typeface) in the cycle tables for Chester. Each cycle runs 25 letters or fewer, one per year, and the letter changes in July each year before 1975.
What years does the Chester date-letter table cover?
1839 to 1962.
Sources
- Silver Makers' Marks, date-letter tables by assay office
- The Goldsmiths' Company Assay Office, History of hallmarking
- Assay Office Birmingham, timeline
- Sheffield Assay Office, history
- Hallmarking Act 1973, Schedule 2 (revised text)
All sources are listed with the method on the sources page.