HW&Co hallmark information

British Silver Reading Silver Hallmarks
1

Hi there,
i have some HW&Co pieces which i believe is from around 1878 but the other hallmarks i cannot find information on especially the EP in the photo. The second mark seems to refer to a year prior to HW actualy starting so it cant be correct. any advice on dating these would be greatly appreciated. the set consists of 5 pairs which i expect is part of a larger set and very keen to find out what.
Thanks
cuttleryhallmark.jpg

2

another image if it helps place them.
thanks
silvercuttlerysetsml.jpg

3

You have, presumably, correctly identified HW&Co as Henry Wilkinson & Co of Sheffield. However the mark is not a silver hallmark so we cannot assign a date with any accuracy. EP stands for ElectroPlate. You can see some examples of Wilkinson’s electroplate marks here, including one which is exactly the same as in your picture.

4

thanks for that info and link. the listing shows the identical marks on the pieces i have. i have reattached it here but can you confirm the year of the pieces. the condition looks average of my pieces but havent looked at cleaning them yet and will more than likely do this professionally. i wouldnt mind finding some more pieces but any idea what these or other pieces would be worth ?
are you aware of any collectors of HW&co?
thanks for assistance.
Darin
hwcohallmark.jpeg

5

i seem to have found the second mark “M” in the year charts dating it to 1847 but not sure if i am correct in this. i now understand the EP reference ( thanks again for that ) and i understand the crossed keys but now trying to get to grips with the mark to the right of the “M” which would normally be a duty mark? but this doesnt apply on electro plated pieces? i might be right off the mark so keen to get a steer in the right direction.
thanks again for info
Darin

6

You mention a duty mark. This would have been on silver up to 1890. But your pieces are electroplate so the idea of duty and date marking is irrelevant. The M certainly does not mean 1847 except on London silver. It may be that an expert on Wilkinson’s marks could give a date range when this style of trade mark was in use - I cannot.

Electroplate normally has little commercial value.