London hallmark date letters

London date letters cover 1776 to 2026. Before 1975 a letter marks the year from May to May; the cycles below give each letter's year by its shape (case and typeface).

London: cycles before 1975

Years	Letters in order	Style	Note
1776–1796	abcdefghiklmnopqrstu	lowercase roman
1796–1816	ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTU	uppercase roman
1816–1836	abcdefghiklmnopqrstu	lowercase roman
1836–1856	ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTU	uppercase gothic
1856–1876	abcdefghiklmnopqrstu	lowercase gothic
1876–1896	ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTU	uppercase roman
1896–1916	abcdefghiklmnopqrstu	lowercase roman
1916–1936	abcdefghiklmnopqrstu	lowercase gothic
1936–1956	ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTU	uppercase sans-serif
1956–1975	abcdefghiklmnopqrst	lowercase cursive	Short cycle: the t of 1974 ends on 31-12-1974.

Since 1975: one cycle for all offices

From 1975 every UK assay office uses the same annual letter sequence, so the letter no longer says where the piece was assayed. The year now changes on 1 January.

From	Letters	Style	Note
1975	ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ	uppercase roman
2000	abcdefghjklmnopqrstuvwxyz	lowercase roman
2025	AB	uppercase roman	Current cycle (2025 A, 2026 B).

Look up one letter

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Other offices

Birmingham · Sheffield · Edinburgh · Chester · Glasgow

Frequently asked

How do I read a London hallmark date letter?

Find the letter's shape (case and typeface) in the cycle tables for London. Each cycle runs 20 letters or fewer, one per year, and the letter changes in May each year before 1975.

What years does the London date-letter table cover?

1776 to 2026.

Sources

All sources are listed with the method on the sources page.