Glasgow hallmark date letters
Short answer
Glasgow date letters cover 1819 to 1963. 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).
Glasgow: cycles before 1975
| Years | Letters in order | Style | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1819–1845 | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase roman | |
| 1845–1871 | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase gothic | |
| 1871–1897 | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase sans-serif | |
| 1897–1923 | ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ | uppercase cursive | |
| 1923–1949 | abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz | lowercase roman | |
| 1949–1964 | ABCDEFGHJLMNOPR | uppercase gothic | The office closed on 31-3-1964. |
Look up one letter
Other offices
London · Birmingham · Sheffield · Edinburgh · Chester
Frequently asked
How do I read a Glasgow hallmark date letter?
Find the letter's shape (case and typeface) in the cycle tables for Glasgow. Each cycle runs 26 letters or fewer, one per year, and the letter changes in July each year before 1975.
What years does the Glasgow date-letter table cover?
1819 to 1963.
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.