Hiya, I recently bought a rather battered silver belt or shoe buckle with the hallmarks shown below: I’m not entirely certain what the first stamp is, but the second is clearly a lion rampant and the third appears to be a B, or C in cursive script. The piece is also marked J.F., and has a small '5. stamped on it’s back. Any assistance whatsoever would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Added a couple more pictures.
Hi Mookar, and welcome to silver-collector.com.
Its a little difficult to see the marks you have posted, but I believe your item (which is half of a belt buckle) was made in Glasgow in 1899. The first mark is the Glasgow mark, it is based on the arms of the city, and consists of a tree, bird, bell, fish and ring motif, the second mark is the Lion rampant mark, and the third is the date letter C for 1899.
The J. F. mark is the makers mark, but without seing this I can’t tell you who made it.
I hope this helps a little,
Best regards
Daniel
Thanks very much, and apologies about the quality of the photos! I’ve attached another (blurry) picture of the maker’s mark, and of the back of the item. Any additional help with identification would be very much appreciated, and thank-you again for the information you’ve already provided.
Hi again.
I really can’t see the mark at all this time i’m afraid! I will have a look through my books to see if i can find a J.F from Glasgow in the late Victorian period and will let you know what i find.
Daniel
Dear Daniel,
Thanks again, and no worries if you can’t find the maker. I realise that my photographs make me look like a complete incompetent, but I can assure you all that it really is my old digital camera that’s at fault!
Regards,
Sholto
Hi Sholto,
I can quite understand, we had an old digital camera and it couldn’t focus onto hallmarks, so have invested in a better one.
I will have a look for a possible maker tonight and let you know if I find anything.
Best regards
Daniel